Cherry Blossom Adventures

Feeling a bit unmotivated today and just a bit down- I am not sure why but I think part of it is tiredness, the recent weather and Shun`s insane working hours plus knowing he will be working this Saturday (yet I have know plans for the weekend and am even contemplating ringing my in-laws to see if I can spend the day there on Saturday)

But there are still some things I am loving this Thursday

• Little Scholastic brand books- I love them- they are designed for babies to age three and we have about 4 and they are great to read with Noah! Firstly they are board books (so when he gets old he can`t rip them, plus they will withstand his drool a little longer)
• The 親子カフェ　(parent/child cafe) near my house.
• The sun coming out- yes it is finally out after some dreadful rainy and cold weather
• Purikura- and having Noah in his first every purikura!
• Spending time with Clare over the weekend!
• Hanami plans!
• Knowing Shun`s current work project will be coming to an end in 2 weeks!
• Awesome beef stew in the slow cooker
• Eating yummy yummy pizza in Fuchu with Cassie & Nana last Friday.
• Going in to pick up Noah this morning after hearing him “chat” to himself and having him smile as soon as he saw me!

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Well, since it seems some of you don`t mind if I go on about Noah I thought I would post some more photos and a video of him smiling! Although you will have to sit through my singing voice to see it- haha!

I wish I had remembered to hold the camera the right way so that the video would be up the right way but oh well…Oh and when I looked at this I was like “God, my hands look HUGE in comparison to his head” – Noah likes been sung too and I guess he doesn`t care how my voice sounds it seems!

As you know Clare, a highschool friend from Australia stayed with us for a couple of days and it was sad to see her go yesterday. It was great having her around and she is just so easy going all the time.

I only managed to get a couple of photos with her and Noah- a couple when she was reading to him and another of the three of us the morning she left!

Noah is not looking at the camera at all though

Look at the slobber

Noah loves to just stare at Shun…

Shun was proud to see im in this outfit too (which came from Noah`s Nan, my mum)

Oh and for some reason in the last week Noah has been obsessed with his left hand- literally can stare at it for ages. I kind of wonder what is going through his head as he just sits and stares as it- maybe he is trying to figure out how to use it? (Although he is grabbing toys now so he knows how to use it) or whether he is just like “mmm, what does this do?”

Whenever he does it now (and when Clare was here) we would both go “Noah, left hand” whenever he did it. Even when he is in his pram he will pop it in the air to have a good stare! hehe

Shun has been working some crazy hours lately- he leaves every morning about 9am to start work at 10am and hasn`t been getting him most nights til after 12am, sometimes not until after 1am…The project he is working on is coming to an end and will be launched in less than 2 weeks now and I am looking forward to when it will be over (so is he!) although over the next two weekends he will also have work. This Saturday he will go in and then the following week he will be at work from Sunday night til Tuesday night- they will book him a business hotel in the same street as his work so that he can maybe catch a couple hours sleep and have a shower. I think it is a bit ridiculous and personally think that if the project had been better managed then this kind of thing wouldn`t happen but oh well.

I know this is the life of a Japanese salary man and I knew this when I married him- I knew there would be the occasional weekend work and late nights since it was like this on occasion in the years we lived together before we married. It is hard though because it means he sees Noah even less than usual and it means that it is just me and Noah most of the time. Not that he would get home in time to help with dinner or bathtime and sleeptime even if he did finish earlier but still it would mean I might be awake when he gets home so that I could have some adult conversation. I miss him.

Luckily this project has just another couple of weeks left and while Shun is scheduled to move on to another project after that it probably won`t get busy for a couple months meaning we will have a couple of months were we can spend the weekends together and also some nights were he will be home before I go to bed (although not before Noah does)…

Today, since the sun came out a little around lunch time, Noah and I headed out to a closeby 親子カフェ (parent/child cafe)…I have wanted to check it out since I walked past once when I was still pregnant. It is also where Noah & I are scheduled to go for our baby sign class next month (and if we like it then we can sign up for a six month course which would have a lesson once a month)…

I couldn`t believe how packed it was! I am glad I rang and asked whether there would be space because I doubt there would of been otherwise. It is not a very big place but it is a lovely little set up! Lots of kiddie chairs, kid friendly foods for those starting solids (like pureed fruit and tofu/cheese patties) and for older kids like mild curry rice. Plus the lunch sets for the mama`s were nice too! One of the waitresses was really lovely and I told her I was looking to make some Japanese mama friends that lived in the area and she introduced me to a couple of the other mums that were there. Everyone`s bubs were older than Noah but she suggested I try a baby massage class next month or in May because the babies would be a similar age to Noah…

After lunch Noah and I sat on the playmat and had a bit of a play- he enjoyed the interaction I think and the other kids enjoyed handing him things (well handing me things) and saying “hai doozo noah” (Here you go Noah)…kind of cute really! I will definitely be going back! It is nice to have somewhere like that so close by too- it is on my street about 1km away so an easy walk!

Since I am also hoping to pick up some private lessons OR possibly teaching a mama/baby english class I am going to ask next time whether they would be interested. They do an English book reading time once a month but I asked and it is not a native speaker that does it…I am looking for work where I can take Noah with me though of course and somewhere like that would be perfect!

I missed doing “Two for Tuesday” yesterday but I made an awesome beef stew today in the slow cooker (had a bit of a taste when I got home since it was already done. YUMMO! When I got off our floor when coming home I smelt something really nice and thought our neighbours must have been cooking but when I opened our door I realized it was coming from OUR apartment!) – I tweaked the recipe a little and added mushrooms instead of celery and carrot (since I didn`t have any in the fridge) and also I added a pack of gravox (approx 2 tablespoons I guess) and it turned out great. The recipe (apart from what I tweaked) is this one which I found here. I didn`t use as much meat either (it was like 1kg worth for 6 people, i used about half of that but I kept the vegetable amounts the same) but I kept the spices the same since we like flavoursome stew- the beef turned out so tender!

Well enough of my mid week ramblings I guess- Noah is about to stir from is nap anyway!

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I actually have managed to cross a couple things during the last month from my list- although I know there will be things left over at the end of the time I am at peace with that but still determined to cross off as many things as I can before the deadline this December.

2. Read a Japanese newspaper or magazine and understand it.

Well I read “おはよう奥さん” a magazine with recipes and things for wives in Japan- still can`t quite believe a magazine like this exists. Now I skipped all the ads in it and I read through the rest. I have to admit after the first couple of pages of looking up every second kanji I gave up looking the rest up so technically I only understood about 50% of it. But, I did do a couple pages each day and read through reasonably slowly trying to get the meaning etc. I doubt I would buy the magazine again but I did like the recipes and have marked a couple to try. I also bought a cook book at the same time with Japanese recipes and have flicked through that a couple times and tried a couple of things from it- so I can read them well enough to do them without help!

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months (2/6)

Maintained my original weight loss for another month and bonus here, I lost another 2kg since Jan 19th! WOOT! Was a nice surprise when I hopped on the scales at the end of Feb! So 2 months down here!

50. Learn how to use photoshop.

I am still working on this but I don`t think I could comfortably cross it off but I do know most of the basics now! Will continue to work through it and hopefully be able to cross it off soon!

66. (Buy) a Polaroid camera

Well technically I didn`t *buy* it but when Shun`s parents asked him what I wanted for my birthday last month he said he knew I wanted a Polaroid camera and that is what they got me! Yay! Along with 5 things of the film stuff so I have snapped quite a few cute pictures of Noah which are now stuck to our pinboard! I look forward to playing with it more!

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (6/6)

It feels so good to cross this off my list as it has been a long time coming! Shun  & I successfully stuck to our budget for six whole months!!!! We are continuing with a similar system but I would and am working towards trying to save more each month- this will probably happen by me taking on a few more private lessons perhaps as well as getting better at cooking Japanese food since it is so much cheaper to cook that here!

I still have 17 things to cross off my list before December!

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Oh and continuing on from January these are the books I read in February- not much but hey, I still tried to read a little each day. Plus I am not putting down the kids books I read with Noah but I read one or two a day too him!

Grasshopper by Barbara Vine (I didn`t like it- I have passed it onto Nay though so will be interesting to see if she likes it as she read the back cover a couple of months ago and requested I pass it onto her when I was done)

Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella (Good book! Usually like her work and it is so easy to pick and put down which is great considering I dont have so much time to read anymore)

Baby Signing (Teach yourself)- Jane Jarvis (Enjoyed it and have referred back to it several times. Noah and I are going to our first baby sign class in April but I already do about 3 signs with him on a regular basis)

I also read cookbooks, many kids books and the “ohayou okusan” magazine mentioned earlier!

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I seem to have lost my blogging mojo of late too- so if you find it please let me know! I guess I feel like most of the things I want to blog are about Noah but that it could get a tad boring for those who read after awhile. I love looking at his cute pictures but I am not sure whether everyone else wants to see picture after picture! hehe

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I missed my Things I love Thursday post this week but I probably would of written good friends and old friends. I have had my life touched in the last week by three old friends in particular…two of whom I hadn`t been in contact for for quite awhile.

One is Clare who came to Japan on her way to moving to the UK. Clare and I met on our first day of highschool at age 12 and have been good friends ever since- in fact when we were about 14 we were inseparable unable to go a day without speaking to each other and even though we were together at school all day we would often write letters to each other or ring each other once we got home from school.  Her family were like my second family especially when my dad got sick when I was 15 and her parents would often take care of my brother & I or help my mum out when she needed it.

Strangely enough Clare`s little brother Timmy and my brother went to the same highschool and while were not very close in junior years they became great friends as the years went by and are still now very close. Through us, our parents also became quite close and have stayed in contact and her whole family was at our wedding last year.

With Clare, no matter how much time has passed since we last saw each other we can always just pick up where we left off!! I love that! She was here Thursday but left Friday morning to go to Kyoto for a couple of days but will be back in Tokyo/Chiba tomorrow! Watching her with Noah was great and I can`t wait to spend some more time with her before she leaves on Tuesday morning.

Next friend is a girl I met in kindy named Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane moved to NZ when we were only 6 or so and we lost touch and my parents also lost touch with her parnets as they separated soon after they went back to NZ. I had been thinking about her a bit lately wondering what the hell happened to her and with the wonders of facebook I tracked her down! She was my first friend I made myself if that makes sense. I was 3 or so and she was 4 at the time and while of course I had friends before that but they were my cousins or neighbours or kids belonging to my parents friends…

We have started a bit of a message thread back and forth and have been busy catching up. It is quite amazing really.

The third old friend is Kanako- a Japanese friend I made in my final year of highschool. We hadn`t been in touch since I was still in Australia and she sent a letter congratulating us on our wedding- we did catch up a couple of weeks before I moved back to Australia as well but hadn`t spoken much since! I didn`t have her old mobile number anymore but I still had her parents home number so I rang last night after having thinking about getting in touch for weeks and weeks- I did try when I first came back to Japan but her email had changed so it was no good. Luckily she was still living at home (she is a teacher in Nagasaki now- teaching English) although she lived out of home in Kyoto for university and will also be moving to her own place soon because she has just gotten a full-time (recent teaching job was just a year contract) with a highschool that is part of nihon daigaku (Japan university) which has highschools all over the country. She will still be based in Nagasaki but quite far from her home town.

Anyway- she didn`t know about Noah so it was great to share that news and also catch up on what has been happening over the last year or so! Nagasaki is really far from here but hopefully one day I can go visit her in Kyushu or next time she heads up this way to Tokyo then we can catch up (She said she was here just 3 weeks ago for a wedding but didn`t know that Shun & I were back in Japan)

It is great to catch up with old friends!!!!

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Another lovely weekend was had in which we met up with Sarah & Nay, attended a 2nd birthday party for Cassie`s daughter Nanami, and had a lovely bloggy girl catch-up on Monday with the girls (Sarah, Nay, Cassie, Melanie & Khea- although unfortunately Sarah, Ryohei & Sakura could not stay very long) and the kiddies. A few favourite photos from the weekend…

The birthday girl

Noah`s first birthday party ever

Opening presents- her first doll

Yummy yummy cheese fondue

What a difference 4.5 months makes- Noah & Sakura make friends with each other!

Grown-ups talk and the kiddies play

Noah meets Missha

The bubs try walking

Noah sitting with me

Was such a lovely weekend as I said but we were exhausted after it was over so today we just chilled out at home and caught up on some play time just the two of us (Noah & I) while mama (me) caught up on some laundry and some chill out time! The good news is that Noah has been a bit of a champion sleeper most nights this past week waking up only once usually during the night (anywhere between 1-4am)…He is bathed and fed and put to bed between 7:30pm an 8:30pm and then sleeps for 5-8 hours usually and then goes down for another couple hours- today he slept in until 8:30am (after a 4am wake up, change and feed) but that could of been because of the busy busy days we have had lately.

My friend Clare (bridesmaid from wedding) arrives from Australia Thursday morning and will be with us for one night before heading down to Kyoto and then back with us from Sunday for two more nights and then she is off on an adventure to England for a couple of years. She of course hasn`t met Noah yet but is excited to meet him and I am so excited to see her!!! We have been friends since the first day of highschool where we met when we were 12!

So tomorrow will be another day spent cleaning up, cooking up a storm (want to cook lasange and soup so that on Thursday and Friday nights I can just heat up food and perhaps make a salad- plus I meant to make brownies today but didn`t get to it so will try them tomorrow!) and making sure everything is ready for my next visitor!

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I had a huge list of things I needed to get done today before visitors arrive tomorrow and I only have three things left to cross off but both can be done tomorrow if need be (one of them is vacuum which Shun will do in the morning)

This is the first time I have had to do any major cleaning while it has just been Noah & I at home- usually I do most of it at the weekends when Shun is around so that if Noah is awake he can watch him but I wasn`t sure we would have time tomorrow before we had to head out to meet Sarah & Nay and to go to Nana`s birthday party.

The to do list for today was

- Go to supermarket (due to weather I will do this by myself in the morning- or send Shun)

-Prepare dinner

- Express milk

- Washing ( I did two loads- but only hung out one, will hang the other out overnight since the weather is bad and they need to be hung out inside)

-Clean kitchen including konro, sink, fridge and oven!

- Prep the futons for the girls tomorrow night

-Clean our bedroom- namely hang up all the clothes and tidy up.

- Cds for Cassie with some kiddie music (I still need to do this but it will get done today)

- Clean the toilet, bathroom sink, bathroom floor and shower/bath.

There were a couple other things like sort this months money, write in the money book and email back a friend who is coming to stay next week from Australia.

Anyway- I managed to get everything done except the vacuuming (which who am I kidding, it is Shun`s job and I was never going to do it), supermarket trip & cd`s for Cassie.

I did most of it while Noah was napping but he had a bad night last night (up from 5:30 and would not resettle and was crying a lot- and I was up til 11:30 last night sorting out our medical bills tax thingy with him so didn`t get much sleep- in total I think I slept for 4.5 hours but it was in two lots) but Noah only naps for 40 minutes or so each time so some of the chores needed to be done while he was awake for example cleaning the shower/bath- I made a game of it and played peek a boo while I did it because I didn`t want to put him in his bouncer too close otherwise he would get wet (plus the cleaning chemicals wouldn`t be good for him) and he also sat in his bouncer and watched me while i prepared dinner- now all I need to do is grill the fish later but everything else is ready (Japanese food tonight!)…I did the rest of the bathroom/toilet during another of his naps though.

The kitchen I did while he was sleeping and that was easy enough (and the konro was WELL OVERDUE for a clean!). The futons were easy to do while he was sleeping too and as for tidying our bedroom I did that while he was playing in the bouncer in the living room and just put on some extra music for him to listen to as well and he was fine for the 15 minutes it took me to do that.

I was wondering what other people do though- especially those that have kids and did the routine change once you had children or did it stay the same? I am actually a pretty bad cleaner! Although I keep a tidy house. What I mean by that is that while it might not be SUPER clean how house never gets SUPER dirty either- I also hate clutter so our place doesn`t get very cluttered and things have their own homes etc. I do a big clean once a week in which I usually dust, clean the genkan, clean the bathrooms properly (I do the sink and toilet seperately an extra time during the week usually, sometimes two extra times) and obviously I do washing everyday (which inevitably ends in folding) as well as a general tidy up of the kitchen. The living room  and dining room table area I tidy up each day (ie put toys away, fold blankets, sort the mail etc etc) and I wipe down the kitchen floor with one of those special mops you attach the wet paper tissue too a couple of times a week.

Shun`s job during the week is to wash whatever plates are left in the sink before he goes to bed- now this isn`t usually very much since I do Noah`s bath in there (I put his baby bath in the kitchen sink) so it is only what goes in there after Noah`s bath which is usually only Shumpei`s dinner plate and bento from the day and maybe a coffee cup.

I should say though that dusting in our apartment and wiping down all the surfaces is a bit of a waste of time sometimes because it is such an old building and gets dusty as soon as you have finished dusting!

Amanda over at working mom in Japan recently wrote about having prompt cards etc to get things done in her house- I liked this idea as I am a big list person anyway. I have a little notebook next to my computer which has lists of things I need to get done- sometimes I will write mini daily lists on a post it and stick it to the top of my notebook so that I can get a thrill when I cross something off (haha, yes I am that dull!)- I also love her idea of a command centre which is essentially a pinboard/noticeboard near their kitchen- if I made one I am not exactly sure where I would put it but I am definitely thinking about creating one! I could write the meals for the week up there and also mini reminders of things I need to get at the supermarket when I run out (ie, milk, soy sauce, minced garlic etc)…Amanda`s system also involved rewards so that if she completed everything then at the end of the week she would get a reward. I like this idea too- even if I rewarded myself after each task with some tv watching time or something like that…

We don`t have a printer so I am thinking of hand making something perhaps- or making something up and printing it next time I am at the in-laws.

We would probably still do a big clean each week (as this is how we have always done it since we moved in together 4 years ago) but the mini daily tasks and other weekly tasks and/or monthly tasks would be great.

Would be interesting to hear what others do. What is your system? Do you even have a system? Are you a neat freak who loves to clean or someone that just does the bare minimum and have you gotten better since you got married and/or had a family or worse?

Anyway that is me all done for the day (I started this post 4 hours ago though, haha- oh the joys of motherhood!) except for the cd`s which I am going to do now and then I am off to bed because the munchkin slept so badly last night and I was up so late that I want to be asleep by 9pm!

ps: You may have noticed there is no mention of ironing in there. That is because we dont own a proper iron (i  have a very little one I use for sewing projects but that is it) and I do not iron. I told Shun when we met that if we ever married that I wouldn`t iron and that he would need to deal with that or give me money to take any clothes he wanted ironed to the drycleaners. So far we have never really needed one…not really anyway.

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Started by Gala Darling

• Shun coming home reasonably early tonight- he will be home just after 10pm. 10pm is not early you say? Well it will be the first time he has been home before 12:30am all week and first time he will be home by 10:30pm in almost 3 weeks so hey, I am going to take what I can get!
• Gummy baby smiles
• Startbucks Coffee- in particular the white chocolate mocha. Oh and I want a sakura coffee mug thingy!
• Have booked Noah`s first baby sign class for April- excited about the possibility of making Japanese mama friends!
• Lunch dates with Nana & Cassie in Shinjuku- plus visit to the English book store and H & M! Plus eating a yummy salad for lunch!
• Earning money through my BlogHer ads- more than enough to pay for my host, flickr account and domain! I have had so many more clicks per month to my blog in the last 3 months- I guess having a baby is a hit? Please keep visiting!
• Having weekend plans!
• Long skype video chats with friends and my mum!
• Slow cooker- it is great to be able to chuck things in in the morning and have a meal prepared 6-8 hours later.
• Spring weather is finally here!
• Lots of happy birthday wishes- can`t believe my birthday was only a week ago though!
• A better bedtime routine for Noah- now from beginning of bath to the time he feeds and then settles it takes about 45 minutes to an hour- so much better than the often 3 hours it was taking! Oh and his first sleep of the night is 6-7 hours now! WOOT!
• A cute bib a friend gave me today which has a bow tie and suspenders picture on it!!! So cute!
• Sleep. Oh sleep, how I love you!
• Finally getting some scrapbooking done this week- another three pages added to Noah`s book!

What are you loving this Thursday? If you have done your own list on your blog make sure to let me know!

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Probably going to be ranty in places and a lot to do with Japan…

• People I don`t know think it is okay to touch my child- when it isn`t.
• People feel like they can push around me just because I have a pram- sure if you are lined up before me I don`t expect you to give up your place in line BUT if I am lined up in front of you that means I should go first. In particular when lining up to get on the train- if I lined up first that means when the train doors open you should WAIT for me to get on, even if I have a pram.
• In the last week I have had at least 10 people tell me that Noah is so “white” and also that his eyes are so “wide/bright”…
• Noah likes being sung to- even if it is just about me washing the plates or hanging out the washing so that he will sit and watch me without wanting to be held. I just sing what I am doing to a kiddy tune…
• Little Einstein movies are odd- plus I am not quite sure why people thought they made babies into genius`s because in one of them a puppet puts glitter into a bowl and then drinks it…Oh and there is also a kid in one of them with the worst haircut I have ever seen. A cross between a bowl cut (with a triangle cut out of his fringe) and a crewcut…
• No matter how much coffee I drink it seems to make no difference to Noah`s sleep. Although I have not had more than 3 in one day since he was born…but still.
• Noah seems much happier at home and a lot more smiley when he is in his own comfort zone.
• Unless I tell Shun to actually change Noah`s nappy he won`t think to do it himself.
• Noah likes to pull off while feeding and smile at me as if to say “Mama, arn`t boobies great?”
• Noah is not laughing yet but he squeals with delight sometime…
• People actually stop in the street as I walk towards them when they see me coming with the pram (and Noah is facing me) and turn around as I pass to get a look at him. Sometimes they say “Ahh, netteiru” (“Ahh, he`s sleeping”) as if that is the most disappointing thing to happen to them all day. It is starting to freak me out a little…
• Noah can not decide what thumb/hand he likes to suck on yet but he seems to suck his left thumb more. Sometimes he can`t get it in his mouth though and ends up sucking the sides of his hands.

What have been some of your mama observations?

Oh and because he is cute- I will leave you with a photo.

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We had a busy weekend (and the next two weekends are set to be just as busy!) but it was lots of fun.

On Saturday we drove out to Kugayama (borrowed in-laws car) in West Tokyo to see a little boy who I used to teach- I mentioned him a couple of weeks ago. Shion. Shion had been at the preschool I used to teach at for 4 months when I joined as a teacher and already his English was excellent- it was so hard to believe ha hadn`t been bought up in a billingual environment until that point. If Noah spoke English as well as Shion did at age 4 I would be pretty happy!

He was always a bit of a handful but such a great, spirited kid and he was always one of my favourites. I taught him to read before he turned 5 and he never looked back- often asking what shop signs said when we would walk to the park and always bringing books to me to read.

A couple of months ago when his mum got in touch with me to see if I was back in Japan I was so happy to hear from her and hear that Shion had gone into elementary school without a hitch. She said her other little boy Kanon was at another international preschool (the one I used to work at closed down 9 months after I left, and before I returned to Japan) and he was also doing very well (he is 3 now, Shion is 7)- then when I got a phonecall a couple weeks ago from Shion I was so excited to make plans to see them in the coming weeks.

So Saturday was the day. Shun had only met Shion twice and only met his parents once but it still went really well. It was my first time at their house and Shion`s mum had prepared temaki zushi (with non-raw seafood options as well) and it was delicious! Noah was pretty well behaved and Shion`s mum had set up a little rocker/seat for him to sit in.

I was most impressed that Shion still spoke English so well even though he has been in a Japanese elementary school since last April (he does do returnee English program 2-3 times a week though and also bible studies at the same school his brother goes to. Shion`s mum is Christian and they attend church each week) – I was also super impressed with how Kanon`s English had come along. When I left Japan he hadn`t started school yet and only spoke a handful of Japanese words and no English but he conversed with me in English at a similar level to a lot of native 3 year olds- certainly at the same level of a child who has one native speaking parent which is what Noah will have so I have high hopes for his billingualism (although Shion/Kanon are full Japanese and their parents don`t speak English- Shion`s dad is a famous song writer though and goes by the pen name “Hikari” and writes songs for bands like Every Little Thing, NEWS, Rinka and V6 -he even is written up on wikipedia here. Why the name Hikari? Well it is the second kanji in his given name and he gets called “Hi-kun” a lot apparently although I always call him by his given name plus san. hehe).

We took a couple of photos and I am looking forward to seeing Shion and his family again soon

Shion insisted on trying to hold Noah while standing up

On Sunday we spent the day at home until just before 5pm when we headed into the city towards Yurakucho to see friends and celebrate the engagement of Gen & Alice. Gen & Alice live in Melbourne but Gen & I studied together originally when I was a student in Japan and he grew up in Melbourne but with two Japanese parents. Alice`s heritage is Chinese/Vietnamese and she spent a bit of time visiting Gen while he was on exchange so I have known her for just as long- the got engaged late last year and were in Japan for this week so we all caught up- a lot of old uni friends (mainly Japanese) also met us for dinner.

Most of them had not seen Noah since he was a week old (except James, Hiro & Cat) and Megumi I hadn`t seen since I came back to Japan so it had been almost 2 years! It was great to catch up although Noah found the whole thing a little overwhelming I think- but he sure slept well when we got home and bathed him (from 9:45pm-4am and then until 7:30)!

Us with Gen & Alice

Technically yesterday was not the weekend but I have one more photo to share! Yesterday Noah & I ventured all the way to Shinjuku to catch up with Cassie & Nana. Was such a lovely day and we visited Kinokuniya (more books for Noah & me), H&M (in which I only looked and bought kids clothes although would love to go back to look for myself) and had a lovely lunch and starbucks!

Here is a photo of Nana, Cassie & Noah- Nana got a little upset when Cassie had held Noah for me earlier in the day so I asked her to “help” her mum hold Noah so I could get some stuff ready (in fact I think it was so I could do up my dress after feeding him. hahaha) and that went much better. It makes me realize though when we add a brother/sister into the family in a couple of years time that Noah might take some time to adjust! I loved this photo though- Nana is checking out Noah!

No Two for Tuesday this week but I am making Chilli Con Carne in the crockpot/slow cooker as I type so if it is a success I am sure I will have some recipes to share next week!

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Dear Noah,

Today you are two months old. This amazes me first because we are both still alive (and surprisingly well) and because it honestly seems like you have been with us forever. Last weekend I left you with your Baba and Jiji for a couple of hours and the whole time I felt like I had left something behind, as if something was missing- oh and when we came home (and you were still awake even though it was 9:30pm) and you saw me and I gave you a cuddle your whole face lit up- that made my day little man.

We are still working on a schedule – this lack of a schedule stresses me out a little but I am a big schedule person but I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that two month olds do not really stick to a schedule. I am not giving up hope though! We will continue to strive for one! Your day schedule is pretty down pat though- you feed every 2.5 hours or so, after a feed you are awake for about an hour to an hour and a half and then you have a 45 minute nap. We used to do your bath about 5:30pm but tonight, for the first time, I waited til 6:30pm and we will see if this works better for you. I had planned to wait until 7pm but you started to get grumpy and sleepy. You did go down to bed at 7pm but woke up at 7:30pm and I finally managed to get you back to sleep at 8:20pm (after another quick feed)…now, 25 minutes later you are still asleep so fingers crossed you stay that way!!

It has been a busy busy month! You had your one month check up and that all went well and then today a nurse from the city hall came and you now weigh 5.7kg! That is a whopping 2.5kg more than you did at birth so you are obviously loving the boob milk! You no longer fit any of your 0000 clothes and are into your 60cm and 000 stuff although some of them are still a little big. I bought you your first pair of jeans this month and I love them- not sure if you are so keep but hey, until you are old enough to dress yourself you are just going to be stuck with what I put you in.

While you smiled just before your one month birthday this second month has certainly brought out your personality more and lots and lots of smiles for us- sometimes I spend whole hours just trying to see how many times I can get you to smile or coo during that time- your smile is infectious and makes the whole lack of sleep thing so worth while.

You also had your first big bath this month which you found a little bit bewildering but you still enjoyed it- the bathroom though is FREEZING so we haven`t given you another bath in there yet but once it starts warming up you will probably have your weekend baths with daddy. I still bathe you at the moment in the baby bath which I put in our giant kitchen sink- you are getting so big though that I am not sure how long I will be able to continue with this…

You still love your bouncer and when we put the toy part on it you grab and bat at the toys and kick your legs in excitement! We might need to buy shares in batteries soon since you love it so much! Spot is still one of your most loved toys- and he makes his way into most photos with you and also goes in your pram with you or in my handbag if we go out! I am attempting to teach you the baby sign for dog although of course you are not signing back at all yet (and I doubt you will for many more months- but perhaps “dog” will be your first! You now “hold” Spot too if I put him on your lap- you will place your hand on his back or tail and grab on tight…

This month you met quite a few people for the first time- a couple of mama`s friends like Zoe, Cassie, Alex, Ei-chan, Gary & Alaina and also you met you Poppy from Australia. He was excited to meet you but could sadly only stay a couple of days- you liked him though and gave him a couple of your best smiles and he enjoyed playing with you. We also went to your first ever English playgroup 2 weeks ago which was fun- I am sure we will be going a lot more from now on!

For a couple of days this month you got quite a bad milk rash but it luckily cleared up without much trouble- it didn`t seem to bother you at all which was good. You now have some mild cradle cap, or as my mum (your nan) likes to call it “cradle crap” – It is not scabby though like some babies get, more just like you have quite dry forehead and front of your head…and a little bit near your eyebrows. Oh, your eyebrows by the way are intense- they are definitely one of the things you got from your father as they are already starting to grow out of control!

Your night schedule has been a bit of a learning curve, as I mentioned earlier. You were such a good sleeper your first month but this month you have really broken away from your original routine. It now sometimes takes us a couple of hours to get you settled at night but luckily you still sleep for at least 2.5-3 hours between feeds (sometimes longer) and during the night you resettle down straight away without any fuss. I have many sempai mummy friends who have offered some great advice though both on my blog and in RL and it is so nice to have so many people to turn to.

Your hand eye coordination has gotten MUCH better- you can grip onto your play rings and also can hit (but not quite grab) things that hang down above you on your play mat. You like things that make noise like your balls and rattles and you still like to be sung too. Most days we watch a wiggles song or two on youtube and you sit and bop on my lap (okay, i make you bop, but I am sure you would bop by yourself if you could!). I sing to you about what I am doing too when I am doing chores like hanging out the washing, or washing up the dishes since it keeps you calm since at those times I can`t hold you. You have started to boycott tummy time though and do not like to stay on your tummy now for more than 5 minutes or so…we still try and do a little each day though and it is so funny to watch because you get so frustrated that you can not move although you are quite strong and often move a couple inches backwards because you kick your legs so much!

You like to “talk” to your toys which is cute- especially to the little bugs that hang down on your pram. I try to “talk” back to you when you “talk” to me as well which you like- and it usually means you kick your legs in excitement because maybe you think I understand what you are saying. Which of course I don`t.

You love your daddy although when you want to be comforted you certainly prefer to have me cuddle you. Mornings are the time when you love to spend time with daddy though and you love it when he touches your head. I have no idea why….and if I touch your head or rub your hair you are indifferent but when he does it, it is like “my god, that feels awesome”…

One thing I love doing with you is reading stories. And despite your young age you seem to really enjoy being read to. I am not sure if it is the pictures you are reacting to or the sound of my voice though- we read a little each day though and I often pop a small book in my bag to read to you while we are out and about.

We have another busy month coming up with Nay, Sarah & Sakura coming to stay next weekend and also Nana`s 2nd birthday party. Plus Mama`s friend Clare is coming from Australia for a couple of days too…

My hope for you for this month: That we will find a night routine/schedule that works for us both! But if we don`t, don`t worry, I will still love you more than the moon and stars.

Love Mama

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