Cherry Blossom Adventures

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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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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Sometimes you just have a great day and for me, today was one of them!!!

Noah had a reasonable sleep last night and while i woke up for the day a little tired I soon recovered (as my body is certainly getting used to!). We set out at 10am to do a bit of shopping (Got Noah so jeans from gap for 9ooyen on sale) before heading to Kinshicho to meet Cassie & Nana for lunch. We hadn`t met up since September due to schedule conflicts, sickness, baby births and overseas travel so it was a long awaited catch up and it didn`t disappoint!

It was so nice to have lunch with a friend, talk about bubs and just catch up in general. Cassie & I have similar outlooks on life and it is always nice to catch up and while we live kind of far from each other it is still a doable lunch date!!!

We said goodbye about 3:30pm and Noah and I headed back to Funabashi to do some food shopping before heading home. Noah went down tonight quite well after his bath and feed and while he woke up once about 10 minutes after I put him down (so I went in and gave him a cuddle) he cried again when I put him down again but not a hysterical cry so I let him cry and within 5 minutes he was asleep. I never thought I could be one of those “let them cry it out” parents but for Noah it works- he is much better at settling himself than having me settle him. If I go in and settle him he falls asleep but wakes up again within 5 minutes of me putting him down and after a couple of horror nights last week and over the weekend in which it took me 2-4 hours to get him settled as he cried within 10 minutes of putting him down every time,  I decided to take my mum`s advice and the first time he cried after putting him down went in to cuddle him and say “shush, shush” and make sure he wasn`t crying because he was hungry or had gas but would then put him back down (usually asleep) and if he cried again I would let him cry it out- I made a deal with myself that if he cried for more than 10 minutes I would go in and comfort him again but I have done it twice now and he has always stopped well before 10 minutes and settles himself to sleep.

Some may say that letting him cry it out is cruel but I always make sure he is not hungry, gassy or cold so really he just wants to be held. In fact when I pick him up he always sleeps within one minute of me picking him up but will wake soon after putting him down again so this way is actually working well for us both. I know that the “letting them cry it out” method does not work for some but considering I do the bedtime routine alone it definitely works for us (and a sometimes he doesn`t cry at all but when he wakes up just chats to himself and soothes himself back to sleep.)

Anyway, continuing on with my great day. After Noah had settled for the night I got a phonecall from an unknown number and when I answered it I repeated “moshi moshi” several times before I heard a little voice say “Is this Teacher Laura?”- it was one of my old international preschool students Shion (from my old job in Kichijoji). His mum emailed me just before Christmas to say merry Christmas and a happy new year and say that she hadn`t heard from me in awhile. I wrote back saying I was back in Japan and expecting a baby in the next couple of weeks and she wrote back showing me some photos of her boys- I finally got around to emailing her again about a week ago to say that I had had my baby and that I hoped we could catch up soon and I included my keitai number and email.

Anyway Shion`s English was still awesome- we were always in awe of this little boy whose English was so great despite having no English outside of school. He is now 7 (I met him when he had just turned 4) and at elementary school but still taking advanced English classes twice a week outside of school and returnee English twice a week at school. He talked to me about his elementary school and said that his teacher was “kind of nice but a little mean” and also said congratulations for baby Noah. It was so cute and hearing him talk brought tears to my eyes. This is a little boy who was one of my favourite EVER students who I had not spoken to in almost 2 years yet he still remembers me!

We have plans to meet up in a couple of weeks!!! I have to speak to Shun about which weekend/holiday suits but I think we will drive out to his parents house sometime soon. I spoke to Shion`s mum for awhile after talking to Shion and I can not wait to meet up again in person. They have another little boy Kannon (who was 3 months old or so when I met him!) and he is now 3 and going to a different international school.

Soon after I hung up I got a call from my mum and we chatted for a bit too- we spoke last night and I was a bit down so she was ringing to check how my day was today. I just feel like today was such a lovely day and I just have such a positive vibe! Dinner is all prepared and in the oven and Shun mailed before to say he shouldn`t be too late and will probably be home by 9:30pm (I might already be in bed however)…

Anyway to conclude my gushy post, here are a couple photos of Noah & Shun from last week in which Noah experienced his first “big bath”…

How was everyone else`s day?

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Noah is one week old today. In some ways it seems like he has been here for a lot longer and in others it feels like just yesterday that he arrived but I can safely say we survived the first week quite well. Motherhood is still definitely a learning curve for me but we are plodding along well!!

He is a pretty good baby (hope I don`t jinx myself) and sleeps quite well at night, waking up to feed every 3 to 3.5 hours and generally going back down fairly easily. Of course sometimes it takes some time to get him back down to sleep or once I put him back down he wakes up again with in ten minutes but most of the time he is good although I am still a bit tired!! He sleeps a bit during the day too of course and tends to drop off for a little bit after each feed then might wake up again 45 minutes later for some awake time! I think I need to start taking some day time naps if I want to survive these first couple of weeks! This might be more possible once my mum arrives (Shun is at the airport now and she should of landed already meaning they will be here in under 2 hours- SQUEEL!!!!!)- he generally stays awake for an hour and a half in the morning and another hour and a half in the afternoon and during those times we either sit watching tv together or he has some tummy time or plays in his bouncer. Yesterday being christmas we listened to carols and I read him a couple of Christmas stories (which I am sure he was thrilled about?! HAHA!)

The couple of baths we have given him have gone well although he much prefers to be in the bath and in the warm water than been out and getting dressed!! I have waited for Shun to be home before bathing him and of course it is easier having someone around but by the time my mum leaves I think I will be up to doing it by myself (Shun gets home too late really in general to wait for him all the time)

A couple of times he has sucked on his thumb or hand and he feeds well- breastfeeding is going quite well I think and he seems to be getting more than enough just from breast milk. He cries when he is hungry or wakes up (although often I will hear he is awake before he starts to cry) and sometimes when he is getting his diaper changed but generally his cries do not last long. I am waiting for them to get more powerful though as I know they will!!! He still has a tiny weak newborn cry at the moment!!!

He loves the song Puff the Magic Dragon and if I sing it while changing his diaper he doesn`t cry and it seems to quieten him down at other times as well. I have learnt to be very careful while changing him to to watch out for spontaneous peeing! Being a little boy it kind of goes everywhere often requiring a change of clothes! hehe!

Shun seems to have taken to fatherhood- always offering to help or hold Noah (although he is not much help at night unless I wake him up myself- he doesn`t hear him cry or anything unless I physically shake him awake but then again that was to be expected since he sleeps through all alarms and once slept through a fire alarm at our old apartment). He is even changing diapers, even the poopy ones, without complaint. It is really cute to see him with him and you can see the adoration in his eyes.

Here are some photos that have been taken since we came home.

Shun put the Sock Octopus (Made by Melanie) on Noah while he was sleeping in his basket on the sofa.

Noah next to Paddington Bear. I received this Paddington Bear from my dad the day I was born almost 25 years ago (my brother received one in different colours when he was born 2.5 years later). They are about the same size!!!!

First bath at home!

Big yawns while chilling with mama during awake time.

Today Catherine, Mai, Nao, Ryomei, Hiro & Junni came to visit little Noah-kun. All friends from when I was on exchange at Seikei University 5+ years ago. They were very excited to meet him!

Hiro holding Noah- he was so proud and happy!

I am enjoying being a mother. Of course I am tired and still adjusting but it has been a surprisingly smooth transition and one week in we are doing well. I can not wait to see what the next week will bring!

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On Saturday night we met up with a friend who was in town from Germany- my last little night time outing for awhile since Goma-chan should be showing up sometime soon. He is Japanese but was transferred to Germany three years ago and is just completing his stint there now- It was great to see him and some other friends I hadn`t seen in a couple of months. It was my first time in an Izakaya in ages as well- I forgot how much I love Izakaya food (although it is not very good for you!)

Shun, me & Cat

Ryomei, the one in the middle, is the one that was here from Germany. It was so funny to listen to him speak German and even funnier when Mai (girl on the right) said that when they were in Africa earlier this year travelling he spoke a bit of English  with a German accent. That cracked me up the most- listening to him try to speak English and him having an obvious German accent! Both of his languages have improved though- I had never heard him speak much English before and before he went to Germany he spoke no German so he has done pretty well!

Sarah & Sakura were also in Chiba overnight and I can not believe how much Sakura has grown in the 2.5 months since I last saw her!!! She was so alert and genki and had so much fun playing with her toys and watching what was going on around her. She was already asleep when Shun got home last night but they had some time together this morning and Shun was not nearly as scared to hold her as he was a couple of months back!!!

Sarah left this afternoon for the airport and they should be flying on there way to America now- I hope Sakura is being a good little girl for her mum. They will stay with us again on the 28th of December (and my mum will already be here then too- so full house!) since they fly in early evening and it would be too difficult to get back to Niigata after that long a flight. Will be interesting to see how much changes in the three weeks! Plus we will be able to get some cute Sakura & Goma-chan photos!!!

Here are a couple photos of Sakura- she loves playing with her rings a lot!!!

Doctors appointment yesterday went okay. The doctor said baby had moved down a little bit but not much- he said we can probably assume that the baby will be late. Shun mentioned that I was really against the idea of having a c-section unless absolutely necessary and the doctor said that should be fine and that if I am still pregnant on the 21 December they will induce and hope for the best. I am hoping of course labour starts naturally before then but at least I know they are not going to go straight to cutting me open if it looks like he is going to be late. Doctor didn`t do an internal but I assume he will do one next Monday when I will be a day overdue.

They said he was still super genki, looked to weigh about 3.1kg and that they would see me in a week unless contractions started sooner. I have a lot of braxton hicks type pain still and I think he has moved down a little bit but on the ultrasound it showed that his arms over his face are what is stopping him from moving down much further so hopefully he moves them out of the way soon! Shun asks me everyday if I think the baby will be born today and every day I tell him “I don`t think so”- it is cute that he asks though. I told him he will be the first to know if baby starts to make an appearance!

My blood pressure was a little higher than usualy- up until now I have had 110/70 at the highest but it was 135/75 yesterday- I think part of the reason was that I was nervous about seeing the doctor and hearing what he had to say this week but they didn`t even mention it to me (I take my own bloodpressure and it prints out on a piece of paper that I give to the midwife) so I am guessing they were not too concerned about it especially since up until this point I have had no blood pressure issues at all.

I am in pain when I walk or do much so will be nice once he is out and in my arms!!!

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I love looking through old photos and my FIL scanned in a couple of other old photos for me when he did the baby photos. Over the weekend I looked through some other old photos of when Shun & I first met (coming up to 5 years) and from when I was on exchange in Japan in 2004/2005 among others including a couple of highschool shots and during my first year of uni- I can not believe how young I look…

I uploaded some to flickr in an album called “Oldies but Goodies” but thought I would reminisce with a couple here.

My brother & I- I was in year 11 so about 16 years old. He would of been 13 or 14 and we are both in our highschool uniforms.

In Australia we have a formal when we are seniors in highscool (age 17)- here is a photo of me and a friend Claire. A formal is like a prom I guess but because I went to an all girls highschool we were allowed to bring our own partner and I took Jake, my highschool boyfriend.

This is Jake & I- I think this is from his formal though because my hair is shorter and looks different from the photo above but I wore the same dress. I went to another formal that year too, with my friend Duck and I wore a different dress that time but at about $300 or more for a dress and all the money it cost for hair and make-up (and sometimes cars!) it was impossible to buy a different dress for each formal (we also have semi-formals the year before so I had another dress then!)

My first year of uni and the months leading up to when I left for Japan to go on exchange (I spent my second year of uni in Japan on exchange but the year didn`t start til March 2004 meaning I had from beginning of November until I left for Japan on holidays from school)- Here is some photos from those shenanigans.

Em & I- lifesaving in the bath!

Good friends of mine: Nic & Duck. A lot of people in the photos leading up until this point I don`t really have any contact with anymore but Nicole & I are still in touch (she lives in the UK but also did a year in Japan teaching a couple of years back) and Duck I met the same week I met my ex boyfriend Jake in highschool and him & I have stayed friends this entire time and we still catch up whenever I am back in Australia. They were both 18 when this shot was taken (now 24)

All in green to support a friend`s netball team called the ribbits (hence the frog in my top!)- I can`t believe how skinny I look in this photo. It was taken a couple of weeks before I left for Japan the first time so I was just 19.

Next lot of photos were taken the year I was on exchange in Japan- I met Shun at the end of my year here but he is not in any of the first ones.

That is James next to me: he was best man at our wedding. We were the Aussies that came on exchange ( me, James, Erik, Rionne, Gen)

Camping in Chichibu: Hiro, aka Mr Gadget (seriously he pulled that raincoat out of a a pouch the size of a 50 cent piece and also had all sorts of random things attached to his belt including a lighter, ashtray, flashlight & swiss army knife)

Mexican feast night

Osaka: Catherine (maid of honor at wedding) was leaving Japan from Osaka to return to UK to finish her studies so we all went to Osaka to see her off. This photo was taken the day after we arrived- since we caught the local train the whole way to Osaka it took us 10 hours and something like 18 changes!!!

Near Tsukiji: Koki took this photo and he is now a photographer but when I first met him he was studying physics at university (he completed degree but never used it)

This is Koki: We were at Warp, a club in Kichijoji where we went to watch a friend DJ Reggae music. Koki introduced me to Shun originally.

Shun & I: About 2 weeks after we met.

When Shun stayed over he used to have to jump off my 2nd floor balcony onto the bike shed to leave because we were not supposed to have guests stay in our dorm rooms- this is him jumping!

This was the weekend before I went home to Australia- taken in the ferris wheel at Odaiba.

I spent a year back in Australia finishing my degree and Shun came to visit twice, and James came up from Melbourne with his gf at the time Megumi and also my friend Hiro came to stay with us for a couple of months while he went to English school. It was both Shun & Hiro`s first time on Australian soil…

Shun & I: Wello Point: Shun`s first day in Australia, ever

My brother & I with what looks like the same hair (although mine was crazy in colour- that is my brother`s natural colour)

September 2006: Shun, me, James & Megumi heading for Coochimudlo Island

Hiro is at the front on the right- BBQs in the park with his friends from English school

A very drunk Hiro & I – Different BBQ

Lastly, Christmas in Australia 2005- Our family Christmas tree

Definitely fun looking back through these photos and reminiscing about what was happening at the time- funny that it seems like I spent A LOT of my time drinking!!! Especially the year I was on exchange. I can not believe how much things have changed since some of these photos were taken- even in the time since I met Shun. I was 19 when we met and he was 23 and now we are married with a bub due any day (can you say “any day” when you are still more than 2 weeks from your due date?)…. Some of the people in the earlier photos I don`t really have much contact with anymore but most of the people I met while on exchange I still see occasionly and the other foreigners I lived with I see whenever they are in Japan or I am in Australia (for those that were from Oz)- but Hiro and I are still good friends as well as Cat & James (Cat was here last night in fact!). I am sure when I look back on photos from now in 4-5 years time I will be thinking the same thing “Oh my how things have changed” – just think, Goma-chan will be in kindergarten by then!

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Yay, I managed to cross a few things off my list for the month of September. Also working towards a couple of other of my goals.

4. See Sumo

Done- Read about it here. Definitely glad to have this one crossed off since I had been looking forward to seeing sumo live for a long time.

34. Learn how to do self breast exams

Done- since the midwives at the hospital want me to do breast massage anyway I thought it was about time.

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (1/6)

We have done this and stuck to it for the month of September and are now into our second month. Last months and this months budget do not allow for much saving but from November the credit card debt will be gone and we will be able to put a little bit away each month. We are monitoring our money a lot better and for this pay period (25th Sep-Oct 24th) we are both writing down all that we spend as well to make sure our budget reflects our needs and hopefully this will also show us where we can afford to save a little bit more.

I am also currently working towards the following tasks-

92. Watch the rest of Heroes with Shun (up until end of season 3)
72. Get paid to write something
50. Learn how to use Photoshop
52. Sell something I have made (well I hope to work on this one before baby comes- anyone want to buy something I can make)
8. Complete all of the exercises in `shiken ni deru kanji to goi`
9. Complete all the exercises in `kanzen master` grammar book for level 1 of the JLPT.

So 2 things fully crossed off this month and another couple underway including sticking to our budget.

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Had lunch with Khea & Missha today and just had to show a couple of photos that we took of me & Missha, and Missha with her mummy! She has grown heaps since I last saw her (2 weeks ago) but she is still so tiny. In the first photo I love how Missha is looking at me- I bet she is thinking “Who is this person and why is her belly nudging me?” – for some reason whenever I hold other babies, especially anywhere near my bump, Goma-chan goes nuts kicking them. Feel a bit bad for Missha actually but hopefully Goma-chan will be better behaved in real life and realize he shouldn`t kick girls!

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Bit of a photo update of sorts.

Package of things we received from my Dad the other day- Aussie animals and some material books and a book for the bath later on.

Engrish about a dog named Lulu- found at in-laws house. It is a photo album.

Photo of my haircut- some of you requested a picture so took this on the mac photobooth thing. Shocking picture but anyway…

And finally- this is a crop growing about 50m down the street from our apartment. I think it is Daikon but Shun thinks Brocolli or Cabbage. I am sure we are both completely wrong but could any of you J-girls know what this is? Maybe you have it planted in your own little veggie farms… I took it on my keitai.

And a close-up

Much to Shun`s dismay if I don`t find out soon I am going to go knock on the door of the house next to this plantation and ask them what the hell it is because it is bugging me.

Other random tibits
- I forgot how much I love Van Morrison. He is awesome. That is all.
- Had lunch today with Zoe & her boy Hunter. We meet up once a month on a Monday as Sunday`s and Monday`s are her days off from her full-time job. I met Zoe originally when she gave me one of her private students when I came back to Japan since she was starting full-time work and wouldn`t be able to continue and we hit it off straight away. We went to Lalaport to eat Hawaiian hamburgers and they were so good. Last time I saw Hunter my belly was not as big but his mum told him their was a baby in there and he kind of looked between her, and me and then said “Uso” literally meaning “lie” but probably closer to “Yeah, right!” and when we told him it was true he lifted up his own shirt and patted his belly and said “Hunter too?”. Today we asked him if he remembered where the baby was and he pointed to my stomach and patted it and said “baby” – I was sure he would of forgotten as he is not quite 2 and a half and we have only met a handful of times and we had the conversation over a month ago (sometimes he is at Hoikuen when Zoe and I meet up)-. It was so cute. I told him that once December came he could give the baby a cuddle as it will be outside my tummy then and he seem satisfied with that.
- I sent an article off to a online travel site for women- hopefully I get some good feedback from that. Also working on a couple of other pieces that I might submit to the magazine that is running one of my articles in November- I figure I have to be a bit persistent.

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Inspired by Nay`s fab news that she finally announced today! I loved her little letters to baby N (or “little cow” as she called him/her in the comments to her sister- LOVE IT!)

So in honour of Nay`s good news and my recent doctors appointment for 28 weeks here is a little letter (Okay it turned into a long letter- I wonder if Goma-chan will be a “chatter” like his Mama) to Goma-chan.

Dear Goma-chan,

I have known for awhile that you would have another friend to play with come April but Auntie Nay could finally announce it on her blog today so it is a reason to celebrate and the reason why I am writing a letter to you!!! Daddy & I could not be happier for Nay and Naoki and I know you are stoked too even if you can`t tell me yet!! It will soon be time to place bets on whether Nay`s little beanie baby will be a boy or a girl- in fact she will probably be able to find out around the time that you arrive on the scene in December.

I will have to track down a copy of the letter I wrote to Sarah`s baby, Sakura, when she was born about how the three of us met one day. It will be good for you to know where mummies lovely friends came from! Interestin fact: There is five months or so age difference between you, Sakura and Nay`s little one!

You are getting more and more active now and my belly is STILL growing and I guess all your growing is pushing my belly button out. I now have a half inny/half outy belly button and basically it just looks freaky.

On Friday I went to the doctors for another scan and check-up and all was going well. Mama put on no weight (YAY!) and you gained 200grams. How they can tell this I am not really sure (your weight gain I mean) but hey the good thing is you are growing! We tried yet again to get a 3D scan of your face but your hands and umbilical cord were in the way- I have a beautiful shot of your mouth and chin though but it was a “no show” of the eyes/nose or forehead. Doctor did mention though that you had hair from what he could see.

Your umbilical cord is up and around the back of your head- at this stage the doctor said we do not need to worry about this but seeing it like that sure makes mama worry. Hopefully next time I go in the umbilical cord will be well out of the way! The doctor mentioned if it was to go around again it would not be a problem just that we would need to monitor your heartbeat on a more regular basis to make sure you don`t go into distress.

We are pretty much prepared for your arrival (I think!)- with almost all of your things set up and ready to go. I have even washed most of your clothes in anticipation which is a shock considering how much I usually hate housework.

Your name is still not decided- we continuously go back to the same two or three names though but I think we will be waiting until we see your face before deciding for sure. For now you are known only as “Goma” or “Goma-chan” and I am beginning to think that this name might even stick around after your birth. I was “Lulu” from a young age and my brother was “boofhead” and so I guess “Goma-chan” is somewhere in between those two as a decent nickname. Aussie Grandma calls you seasame!

We are visiting with Baba and Jiji today- Last night we had dinner with uncle Taka and auntie Kazumi as well as with Hibaba. You will meet them soon after you enter the world in December.

This week you haven`t given me much heartburn yet and for that I am grateful- we are staying another night here and I only have ONE mylanta left in my bag. Hopefully I won`t need it. I mentioned before that you are VERY active- so active in fact that you can see my belly moving around underneath my clothes, kind of like a mini earthquake. When Daddy sees it he says “Kimochi warui” but don`t worry he doesn`t mean it! He loves you a lot already and talks at you all the time- strangely enough in English. Maybe he thinks you don`t understand Japanese??? Most of the time your kicking or moving doesn`t hurt BUT very occasionly you will give me a swift kick or punch near my ribs or lower down and I think it is just you telling me you are still there and genki or it could be the start of a rebellious streak already. Only time will tell!!!

Well Goma-chan, Mama better go. We are excited to meet you in less than 3 months, stay genki until then.

Love Mama

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