The United States of America!

   This post is dedicated to our trip to America. Not much of a baby post, more of a life/family post.

Part 1. -To the Airport-
     Since we just moved to a location farther away from Tokyo, we had to travel about 2 hours to get to the city. We took the Shinkansen (aka Bullet Train) into Tokyo and stayed at Tomo's sister's apartment that night since our flight was too early the next day to make it in time from Nagano. The next morning we traveled the 1 1/2 hours to the airport. We got there nice and early so that we could have some down time and eat breakfast. But of course nothing ever goes as planned. We had trouble with customs regarding Jacet's nationality. Since we only had a U.S. Passport and no legitimate proof that he was Japanese, there would be a hard time getting him back into the country. So they had to make a tourist visa for him, which took about an hour. Because of that, we lost all of our relaxing time and had to go straight to boarding the plane. 

Bassinet on airplane

     The good thing about having an infant on a long flight is that, if requested, you get to sit in the bulk head seats with lots of leg room! Plus they provide an infant bassinet that connects to the wall. This made for a very easy flight...not counting the fact that even though Jacet slept pretty well, I did not because I was worried he couldn't breathe...

Part 2. -Arrival-

Grampa holding Jacet for the first time

      We arrived at JFK around 10am to be greeted by my family. Everyone was so excited! I could tell that they would rather greet the baby first rather than me but they all welcomed Tomo and I before Jacet stole the attention. He was a very happy baby and smiled for everyone.
 

Gramma holding Jacet for the first time

 The morning after we landed, I had a nice brunch with my sister and mom at a cute little local cafe. They make great sandwiches and breakfast burritos! That evening the extended family on my dad's side came over for some hot dogs and burgers and to meet the cute little baby. We weren't sure how he would react to so many people surrounding him since it's usually just the three of us, but he was so well behaved! He's such a happy baby.

The next day we drove to my grandparents' house so he could meet some of the other side of the family. My older brother, sister in law, and their 3 kids were there as well. Jacet was yet again so well behaved. Part of it was probably due to jet lag though now that I think about it...

Later on I had a nice relaxing lunch with some of my very good friends. We chatted and caught up on things and later went back to my parents house to see the baby. He was of course passed around and he was of course a happy little boy. Apart from feeding him, Tomo and Joseph (younger brother) took care of him most of the day so that I could relax and enjoy my time with my friends. It was such a good day and I wish I wasn't so far away so that we could have more like it!

Jacet the pimp!

Sister, Me, Mom, Jacet

Part 3. -The Yankee Game-
    
    We made a last minute decision to go to a Yankee Game and managed to get some cheap tickets. Of course the seats weren't that good but it all worked out. We decided to spend the day in the city, so my parents watched Jacet for the day. We met my sister and her co-worker for lunch and then walked around a little. It then decided to rain. We didn't have much to do so we went to the game a little early. We took some pictures around the stadium, bought some stadium food and drinks, and waited for the game to start. It was very exciting! ....until it started pouring, which led to a rain delay for about an hour. Our seats were worth the cheap price then because they were under the hanging and we didn't get wet. We decided to leave early since it was wet and miserable and I wanted to get home to Jacet. But yet again things just don't go as planned. We got to the train station and lo and behold we had just missed it. The next train wasn't for another hour, so even though we had planned to get back nice and early, fate just wouldn't have it.

Yankee Stadium

Tomo and Kuroda

Tomo and Ichiro

Part 4. -The Wedding-

   Next up is my cousin's wedding! Because the location was a few hours away from my family's home, we booked a hotel room for the night. We had special permission to bring Jacet to the reception so that the family on my mom's side could meet him. I was quite nervous about bringing him because of the loud music and I didn't want him to steal any attention from the bride and groom, but of course he was an angel. Of course he got a lot of attention, but he didn't take any away from the new married couple! It was a wonderful and beautiful wedding. I'm so glad that I had the chance to attend! That night, all three of us conked out for the night and slept very soundly after such an exhausting and fun-filled evening!

Part 5. -Boston-
     Then comes Boston. We stayed at my Aunt and cousin's home which we are very grateful for. Jace accompanied us and was watched by my Aunt and three cousins for the day while Tomo and I visited the city. It was a very hot day and we did a lot of walking around. We explored the waterfront area and ate at a nice Italian restaurant. Boston is such a nice city and we always have a good time visiting. It was just a short visit since we arrived late and needed to get back early, but it was worth it.

Part 6. -Returning to Japan-
 
   My parents drove us to LaGuardia airport in NY where we had a short flight to Chicago and then on to Tokyo. We arrived in Chicago about 20 minutes early, only to find out that our flight to Tokyo was delayed 4 hours...leaving us a total of 7 hours to wait! Using this extra time to our advantage, we decided to head out to the city and explore since neither of us had ever been there. It's a very nice city! We didn't have too much time to do or see a lot and didn't have anything planned, so most of the time was spent walking around trying to find a place to eat lunch. We found a nice Italian place in the Italian Village place and had some really good bread, salad, and pasta. Unfortunately, Jacet decided to get hungry and cranky and would not calm down so we had to pack up the food and leave. After that we just decided to head back to the airport.

After waiting awhile we finally boarded the plane. We had nice spacious seats again and the person next to us never showed up, giving us an extra seat! Jacet got his little bassinet again thankfully. We all slept a lot better on this flight, although I did wind up holding Jacet a lot because of turbulence. He was very good though and slept most of the flight. He must have been worn out from entertaining so many people!

We landed at Narita pretty late and only JUST made the last train back to Nagano. It was hectic and hot! Not to mention that the Shinkansen was completely full and so many people were standing even before we got on. Luckily two very nice people let us sit down since we had a baby, a stroller, a baby bag, a backpack, and 2 suitcases.

We finally made it back to our house around 11:30pm but because of jetlag, were not tired! Jacet conked right out though. 

And that wraps up the very wonderful trip to America! I am so so glad that my family and friends got to meet Jacet in person, and that I got the chance to relax. I hope we will be able to visit again next year!

Next up: Jacet's 3 month update!