It is Golden Week here in Japan at the moment meaning my husband is off until Friday May 6th- It is definitely nice to have some extra help with the boys even though we are only on day 2 (5 more to go!).
We are still shopping around for a house maker- so we have quite a few meetings over the next couple of weeks with some places we have liked and also with a smaller builder/architect that has come recommended by a friend here in Chiba. I can`t wait til we make a decision and start the process. We have decided to move to Moto Yawata at the end of June (to Grandma`s extra townhouse that is empty)- this means a lot of packing and organizing before then but I think it will be the right thing for us especially as it will mean we can save some extra money, be closer to Shun`s parents and avoid paying 2 months “gift” money to renew our lease here (when we would probably only be here another 6-10 months).
Not sure how we will go with the smaller space- Noah will still have his own room but Shion will share with us and then downstairs the living/dining/kitchen is a lot smaller than what we have now. I am seeing it as an opportunity to cull a lot of our stuff though (and doing it now means I won`t have to do as much when we move into our house next year). Also have no idea how I will manage to pack up everything and then unpack once we move with both boys around. It is going to be a crazy 2 months!
Thursday we had a lovely playdate with Samantha and Alex (Alex and Noah had a joint birthday party!)- was such a nice day. Perfect weather for a trip to the park and then back home for some lunch. The boys played REALLY well together and while we couldn`t understand what they were saying to each other they seemed to know exactly what was going on. Noah is exactly one month older than Alex so they are becoming great friends!! Noah loves loves loves the park- he has free reign to climb so I am sure that is why he likes it. He can go up the stairs and down the slide all by himself no issues- in fact the day we were there with Alex and Sam he did it about 25 times in a row!!
We had our first playgroup yesterday since October (!!)- it has been held most months since then but I was in Australia and then I had Shion and now we are finally starting to get back into the swing of things so we went for a picnic in Kasai Rinkai Koen yesterday- playgroup will have been going for a year next month so we plan to do something special- what we are not quite sure as of yet (any suggestions?).
Between Shun & I we have something planned everyday while he is off work- I am having a haircut tomorrow and then we are going to a showroom in the afternoon to check out kitchens/bathrooms/etc for one of the house makers we like. Monday Shun is going to have a haircut and have his crazy hair straightened- this will take MOST of the day so I am heading to Kinshicho to catch up with Nicole and Mio. Will see how I go with the boys…….It will be the first time I leave Funabashi with the two of them by myself. Usually I don`t go far because I am not quite sure how to feed Shion if Noah is with us because if the pram is not moving he will thrash about trying to get out and, well, this would not work well while I try to feed Shion. Of course if I do let him out he will just try to run around or run away…..Will get back to you all on how our first outing out of Funabashi goes with both boys just with me.
Tuesday Sarah and Sakura are coming over for a playdate (trip to the park!) and then in the afternoon we are going to Shun`s parents house for dinner and BIL, SIL and Noah & Shion`s cousin Rina will also join us. Wednesday Shun is having a boys day out and will be gone most of the day and on Thursday I am doing the same (but will take Shion with me!) and catching up with some friends for lunch and then probably some shopping. Friday Shun is back at work and we will stay at home I think and then on Saturday I have work and Sunday we have a meeting with someone in Yawata about mocking up a possible house design and we also going to check out some of the other makers (it is like a complex of houses by different companies) while Shun`s parents watch Noah. So a busy busy week ahead!!
Just so I have a record of it- Noah`s words to date are ball, dog, mama, daa (daddy), there, nan nan (said once while we were talking to my mum the other day) and just yesterday, his new word was Wiggles. Maybe I do let him watch Wiggles dvds too much??? He has said Jiji once (his Japanese grandfather) and he used to (he has stopped recently) say “un” when asked a question. “Un” is kind of like a rude form of yes in Japanese- similar to a grunt I guess?! Shun does it all the time so it is no surprise where he learnt that one!!!
He tried to say “spoon” today and he also makes the same sound everytime he waves bye bye. But it doesn not sound like “bye bye”- at least not to me. He is definitely heading into a bit of a language explosion as he is starting to understand a lot and make more sense with his signs, gestures and words- he is constantly talking. Pointing at stuff and getting us to say the words for things. It is great to watch!
Oh and Noah is finally fully transitioned onto cows milk- yep, no more milk allergy!! He has been eating dairy for awhile without issue and 2 weeks ago I started mixing his formula with milk (half and half and then 3/4 to 1/4) and today was his first day on only cow`s milk (He still has about 300ml a day- once in the morning and once in the evening)- He still drinks it from a bottle though. I have TRIED to get him to drink milk from a cup or a straw cup but he refuses and has a major tantrum about it. It is not worth the battle at this point- I will try again in a couple of weeks after he has been on cow`s milk only for a bit.
Shion is a very smiley baby- Noah loves to hug him while he is his bouncer and while Shion is not a huge fan of that (as I imagine Noah is heavy!) he does love to smile at Noah and try to make noises at him. It is so lovely to see their bond developing!!
A photo of Shion at almost 4 months (taken today- his adjusted age would be almost 2 months)
And a photo of Noah at 2.5 months old.
Do you think they look similar? Sometimes when Shion is sleeping I can really see Noah in him but when he is awake I definitely don`t see it as much.
Well this is a bit of a random update but hadn`t blogged in awhile and I might be late doing my Tot School post (usually goes up Sunday night or Monday)
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
Happy Golden Week and blimey,aren’t you keeping busy!
The house progress sounds so exciting.So many things to decide on and all a bit mind blowing. I totally agree with your karma on moving to a smaller place before the new house and being able to get rid of a lot of stuff.We will bein the same boat.Scary to think of all the sorting,packing ,unpacking and re-packing .But things get done,eh!
Very much enjoying the progress of both boys.And not suprised that Shion is a smiler! So much love around him and with a big brother who loves to hug,Lol!And great news that Noah is on cow’s milk.So much easier for you,I can imagine.And love his vocab….!
As for the boys looking similar,only having seen photos,I would say that they are obvioulsy related(!) but different.But saying that,in the last picture above,I can see so much of Noah in Shion…his eyes and mouth I think.And needless to say,but I like to anyway,both your boys are just gorgeous!
Thanks Marianne! I hope you guys have a good Golden Week!
I like to “cull” so am looking forward to going through our stuff- just hard with the boys. Sure you can understand! Luckily we have only been in this place 2 years so hopefully it won`t be TOO difficult.
Shion definitely loves Noah- and Noah loves Shion too. Nice to see their relationship starting to develop! Can`t wait til they can enjoy “playing” together.