Lamberts Do Japan: Moving In!

We had a lot of big changes the last few weeks -- we moved into our new place last weekend in Minami-Azabu/Hiroo and the boys turned 2 (separate post)! We also transitioned them to "big boy" beds AND separate rooms at the same time! The boys are handling the transition pretty well -- although Zac had a hard time the first night. And, although the apartment came with black-out curtains -- they're really not blacking out much. THE SUN RISES HERE AT 4:30AM. It's probably the most annoying thing about living in Tokyo (they don't recognize a DST here). So, now, the boys will always get up at around 5, and want us to go in there and then they usually only fall asleep for another hour or so. Pretty painful. I'm sure that's why there is a Starbucks or Tulley's on every corner here. But, other than that, I'm really loving our place. It's about 1,600 sq ft, so it's pretty big by Tokyo standards and has a large open space in the living/dining area; so, the boys are able to run around freely and play. We don't get our furniture until 7/15, so we're leasing furniture until then, and we bought a few items from IKEA a few weeks ago. Greg had A BLAST putting all that together last weekend! :-) All the appliances are pretty much western-style/size, which has been a nice change from our temporary apartment at the Oakwood (it took all day to wash and dry one small load of laundry in the small combo unit...and it still came out damp). Our apartment is in an excellent location -- pretty much right across the street from the big Arisagawa Park, the National Azabu Market (where you can get real Cheerios for $11!), and the Hiroo train station. I've already met some really cool moms that have been great about giving advice and sharing resources; so, that's been great for me. We've already taken advantage of our outdoor pool here several times -- there is a nice big kiddie pool area, which is GREAT. The boys love it and get more confident every time.