Cherry Blossom Adventures

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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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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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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I missed my list last week so here are my things I am loving Thursday for the past two weeks…

• My new rocking chair- it arrived on Tuesday and Shun put it together Tuesday night when he got home (which was after midnight by the way) and it was waiting for me all together in the living room on Wednesday morning.
• Getting Noah to take naps in his cot- we have no problems getting him to sleep there at night (after he gets settled for the night I mean although he has been taking a couple hours to settle the last couple of nights making for a very exhausted mama) but during the day he would always wake up straight away so it was easier to get him to nap in his bouncer (when he would fuss before his nap, I would pick him up, pat his back and within 5 mins he would be asleep and then I would just put him in his bouncer at my feet and cover him with a blanket) – he is starting to move around a lot more now though so sleeping him in his bouncer would have involved strapping him in which hasn`t been necessary up to this point so I knew I would have to train him to nap in his cot. So far so good with the cot napping!! At least for most of his naps…
• Birthday cake! It is my birthday today but on Sunday when we were at the in-laws they had a lovely birthday cake for me which even had my name on it!!!
• Polaroid camera- yep, that is right, I finally got one after years of wanting one!!! Shun mentioned to his parents that I wanted one so that is what they got me for my birthday!!! I also got a lovely scarf from my BIL and SIL!
• Getting a couple of nice photos of Noah and his poppy.
• Smiles from my baby boy- they always make me laugh especially when he does giant gummy smiles! Sometimes I hear him wake up from his naps and go in to get him before he cries out and when he sees me he gets so happy! I love that!
• Lunch and coffee dates with friends.
• Life Unexpected- a new American drama. Quite liking it!!
• Weekend plans- this weekend we are going to see my old student Shion and his family and then on Sunday afternoon we are off to an engagement party for our friends Gen & Alice (who live in Melbourne but are in Japan for 10 days this week)- a lot of my old uni friends have met Noah already but he has changed so much in the last month so I am looking forward to showing him off and seeing Gen & Alice for the first time since our wedding! Then the following weekend Sarah & Nay will be in town, we also have a 2 year old`s birthday party and a lunch date out with some of the Tokyo bloggers on Monday March 1st! Then the following week my friend Clare arrives from Australia and will be able to meet Noah. (Clare was one of my bridemaids!)
• Noah`s 2 month birthday approaching tomorrow! I can not believe he is almost 2 months already and what a little personality he is developing!
• Reading spot books!
• Crossing things off my to do list! Even if they are boring cleaning related things like dusting and cleaning the oven and cleaning out the pantry
• Shopping for baby girl things for a certain friend expecting a little one in about  6-8 weeks!
• Salads for lunch- there is something so refreshing about eating salads with lots of yummy veggies plus some cheese and protein! Had a great one out the other day actually which had beans (not usually a beans fan but loved them), tuna and strangely enough strawberries! Plus I made one for myself yesterday!
• Shun coming home early tonight (arrived home at 8:10) and we ate dinner together (Although Noah still wasn`t asleep and cried the whole time)
• Phone calls from Australia and from friends in Japan for my birthday- plus lots of birthday messages.

On another note- we used to bathe Noah between 5:30pm and 6pm then feed him and put him down for the night. Sometimes it would take a couple of tries to get him settled in his cot but usually by 7pm he was down for good. The last week though it has taken up sometimes 4 hours to get him completely settled for the night. Tonight I bathed him at 6:10pm, fed him at 6:30pm in the rocking chair while listening to a lullaby cd in his room (and then again at 8:00pm since he still hadnt settled and seemed hungry again) and he has only settled in his cot asleep in the last 10 minutes (so 9:35pm or so) and we had to leave the light on as he seemed to scream a lot more when the lights were off.

Could he be afraid of the dark at this age? I will switch his light off soon when I go into bed. A couple of weeks ago the crying it out method worked for us (for two nights in a row at least) in which we would let him cry for no more than 10 minutes and he was always fast asleep before those 10 minutes were up….but that is not working now and he just gets himself into a tizzy so I would rather not do it.

During the night he rarely has trouble re-settling after waking up for a feed…in fact usually I feed him, burp him and he is asleep before I even put him back in the cot. Even if he is awake he will usually settle by himself…

Usually during the day he wouldnt go for more than 2 hours without a nap which is why I am not sure why it takes him so long to settle at night.

Tonight Shun was home by just after 8pm so he has been here to help me but most nights I am on my own and while he doesn`t cry the entire time he can not make up his mind whether he wants to be held or put down or rocked or fed or changed. I try everything. If he doesn`t settle though it means that while I may have prepared dinner earlier in the day I won`t usually have cooked it yet and unless he goes down properly I can`t- but by the time I do have him down for the night I am too exhausted to cook (or do anything) and usually I would go to bed about 9:30pm anyway ( have been since he has been born anyway)- obviously this is getting a bit stressful for me especially as it is just me most nights as I said(but I have some great friends who have offered advice and guidance and also just listened to me when I need to have a groan about it- you know who you are girls, and thanks).

I know all babies are different but any advice or hints on what worked with your children would be greatly appreciated? I am trying to stick with the same routine every night so that he recognizes that it is sleep time but it definitely isn`t working for us now. Tonight he screamed at the top of his lungs for an hour straight (8:30-9:30pm) and then fell asleep in Shun`s arms so sudden- he just stopped crying and was asleep and he didn`t wake up again when Shun put him in his cot (although light was on)…

Hopefully something I will be loving next Thursday is having discovered a sleeping routine that works for Noah! haha!

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Two recent videos of Noah during play time…

In the magic chair- seriously this chair has been a lifesaver and he will literally sit in it for an hour if I let him.

Mat time play is still something that is a bit short- we do a couple sessions a day but he gets a bit fed up with the lack of moving he can do after about 10-15 minutes. He likes the music though!

I can`t believe I am managing to blog everyday this week so far!! Tomorrow will be Things I Love Thursday too and on Friday it is Noah`s second month birthday so a new monthly letter to him!!

Hope everyone is having a good week- I wish I could get videos of Noah smiling a bit more, so maybe that will be something I can try next week!

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My Aussie grandfather when he was alive was always referred to as “Poppy” by all of his grandchildren (and at that time there were 27 of us…now 29) and my dad decided that he also wanted to be a “Poppy” so that is what we call him in front of Noah…

Here are some photos from his brief stay with us in Chiba…

Shun also took a couple of photos of me and Noah yesterday- most of the time I am behind the camera so it was nice to get a couple of the two of us! Noah even has a faint smile on his face in this one

Oh, and this is a recent favourite- I gave him a mohawk and stuck him in his bumbo which for some reason he found hilarious…

Putting things in his mouth (mainly his hands but also toys) is a new thing and this is him trying to suck on “Tako Tako`s” nose….

He is definitely one of the most photographed children on the planet!!!

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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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