Fast forward two years and we are now a family of four!

No Tot School post this week since last week was Golden Week here. We are back into it again this week and focusing on shapes which is great as I think Noah has been trying to say “star” the last week. Have pulled out the tupperware shape sorter, shape books and have some other activities organized!

Both boys are napping now- Noah went down about 30 minutes ago and Shion has just fallen asleep in the bouncer next to me about 10 minutes ago.

Mother`s Day yesterday was a bit of a bust- I doubt my husband will ever understand what a more Western Mother`s Day is like (the only one in Australia he experienced was the day after our wedding and while we all had breakfast together for Mother`s Day and gave mum gifts we then went off to Australia Zoo with a lot of the international wedding guests so I guess it wasn`t a very good example!). My husband didn`t remember (until he asked why I was calling my mum so early on a Sunday!), but then he bought a card while we were out and wrote a message from him and the boys and he gave me a 45 minute massage last night.

Oh and as for our anniversary- I made him a card (with some wedding photos!) and we had a nice steak dinner last night and had a glass of wine each after the boys were asleep but we decided not to do presents this year or anything since we are getting new phones at the end of the month!! No big grand gestures here!!! For our first anniversary last year we went away to Shizuoka to stay in a ryokan (Japanese style inn) up a mountain. No trips away this year- bit hard with BOTH boys! Maybe next year though!

We are still undecided whether we will get iphones (and change to Softbank) or go for an android phone from docomo. We might switch to softbank anyway and I will get an iphone and my husband would still probably get an android. I don`t really mind either way- just want to get a new phone as my current one is falling apart.

I posted on facebook the status update “happy” because that is how I feel. Not unbelievably happy or anything like that so perhaps content is a better word.

Thursday we went house hunting- nothing stood out from the crowd but still nice to know we are still looking and hunting for a nice place to live. We will go again this Saturday- it is really tiring and I wish we could find somewhere we both like but I know we will eventually so I keep telling myself and reminding myself of that. My MIL watched Noah and she came by train but of course had stuff to stock in my fridge- earlier last week when I was with her I said I hadn`t bought much pork recently because it was the same price as beef at my supermarket which seemed expensive to me so she came with several packs of pork, a cabbage, some apples, some home made seasame/ponzu dressing to go on the cabbage and pork dish I could make and some other foods that Shun likes that I can put out with meals. Oh and a sock that Shun had left there the weekend before. hahahaha!

Friday, Noah and I stayed home and Shun went out for a couple hours- Noah now has a special bank account for his education (He has another one too that my mother in law has for him that Shun`s grandma set up when he was born or at least put a lump sum of money into it- I have never seen the bank book so not exactly sure how that one works). WE will set one up for the next baby too once he (yeah I am convinced about 98% that the next bub is a boy) is born also.

Saturday, despite the early morning crappy weather, we set out about 8am to go to Seikei uni in Kichijoji (where Shun & I are ex-students) so that Shun`s old uni team could play against the current students. Quite hilarious to watch the 30 year olds play against the much fitter 20 and 21 year olds- they were so young! The boys had fun though (and his uni friends FINALLY met Noah) and we watched half the game before I walked back into town to meet Cassie who unfortunately I had not seen in months. We had a lovely time catching up (and Noah had a lovely time chewing on the restaurant menus and eating his tortilla and lunch) and then met up with her hub and daughter for a bit of a play in the park. Haven`t uploaded the photos yet but a couple cute ones of Nana and Noah on the rolly slide in Inokashira Koen.  A quick meet up with Shun and his friends who were eating yakitori and drinking beer before heading back to Chiba (left Shun with his friends- he was home just after midnight and up this morning to watch Noah since it was my turn for a sleep in)- he was feeling a little worse for wear but I commend him on not complaining about it. He watched Noah almost all day today (even took him out for a walk this afternoon) while I cleaned up the house (which is already a mess) and made a whole bunch of food for Noah.

The freezer is now stocked with fruit cubes to mix in Noah`s breakfast (and usually he will have some at lunch or dinner too- some kind of fruit at least) and a big batch of pasta bolognase chocked full of veggies, a chicken, brocolli and cous cous dish, pumpkin risotto and a batch of apricot chicken. Also made up some rice cubes to mix in with other meals he has. I swear our kid eats better than us

So for some our weekend might not seem to exciting but for me it was great- I especially enjoyed the sleep in until almost 11:30 today (I woke up a couple times but mainly I was sleeping) as Noah took a 2 hour nap from 9:30am and Shun hopped back into bed for a 2 hour kip as well.

In other news- theme for Noah`s birthday party has been decided and the party will be in January when we are back form Australia. It is just over six weeks til we go to Australia so I have to make the invitations and decorations before then- also research milk free cakes and normal cake too as I can make the cake so Noah`s part is milk free and the rest is normal (and probably easier to make)….

Quick question: Can babies under one have night terrors? Sometimes (maybe twice a week) Noah wakes up screaming usually within an hour of putting him to bed but he is not actually awake and picking him up usually makes him worse. It is not wind pain and he really is still asleep so I was wondering if he could be having night terrors? Anyone with experience with this- I have heard it is best just to leave them, maybe pat their back but I am not sure. Up until now I have always picked him up but he never calms down while I am holding him and instead goes straight back into a quiet sleep usually when I put him back in his cot.

Noah of course loved the extra attention.

Nic said good bye to her fiance in England and they are trying to work out some visa stuff before he joins her in Australia (he is Colombian) so leaving England was bitter sweet for her. While she is excited to be heading back to Australia I think she is nervous all the same. Anyway, I wish her the best of luck and am looking forward to catching up again in November and December.

Yesterday we went to look at 5 properties in our house/land hunt. Two were blocks of land, one was a block of land with an old house on it (that will be torn down) and two were new houses built in the last couple of months. It definitely made us realize what size things were. I originally was thinking land of about 35 Tsubo but my MIL kept telling me she thought that would be too small and to only look at places 40 tsubo or bigger. I am glad she did- we looked at one block that was 37 tsubo and it just seemed so tiny and I couldn`t imagine a house even fitting on there but that said there are plenty of properties bought on land even SMALLER than that here. My MIL has been great- she went to the bank for us to get some estimates on loans, and sussed out some places for us to look on Sunday. My FIL watched Noah for the 2 hours it took us to look around. It was just our first weekend of looking (and now the next two weekends are busy with camping and then with Benay and her family staying and Sakura`s birthday party) but one was a possibility (the one with the old house on it currently) although we are not in any hurry and will look again in a couple of weeks. Nice to know what is out there though, what the prices range from and also what some new houses looked like on the inside.

Some other recent snaps:

A year ago today I married him.

Happy Anniversary Shun-chan.

So not only is today my first mother`s Day (as a mother) it is also our first anniversary. We survived the year. We had ups and downs and exciting and happy things happen to us. Our relationship grew and while we may have had some downs I have never regretted marrying him. I love him more now than when I met him, and more now than when I married him.

ps: On another note- thanks to those who commented on the last post about working from home and work at home mums. If anyone has anything further to add please do so- the comments have been great and I really appreciate those that took the time to respond. You are all fantastic!!!

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!

Would it be unreasonable to say no and that I want him to stay here? The following weekend after that he has to work on the Saturday and we have known about that for awhile so it will just be Noah & I that day too.

I am thinking I will tell him that if he really wants to go then he should but if he feels like he could miss it then perhaps he should stay here. Shun is home late most nights and doesn`t get to see Noah awake much so I think he should want to stay home but I don`t want to force him to. I don`t want to be one of those people that says “no, you have to stay here and help me with the baby” because while he grumbles about getting up early he does get up when Noah gets up every second day so that I can get an extra hour of sleep (and I let him sleep on the alternative days) and on the weekends if I express milk he will feed Noah a bottle or two so that I can get a solid block of sleep. So really he is being helpful when he can be…

Last weekend Shun watched Noah so I could have a nap (for 2 hours) and after I woke up I told him he could go out if he wanted so he went to Pachinko with a friend for 2 hours so it is not like I make him stay home with us all weekend. I know if he didn`t have some free time it wouldn`t be fair since I get free-time at home while Noah is napping- even if during that time I usually have to prepare dinner and clean-up but he is still sleeping a lot at the moment so I get time to spend on the internet and watch tv as well. I also hope to start on his scrapbook next week- so I do get to do things I want to do.

I know if I ask him not to go he will not put up a fight at all, he will just say okay and tell the guys at work he can`t go- he is really easy going like that which Is why I don`t want to take advantage of his good nature. But is it wrong that I want to spend time together as a family on the weekends since we don`t get to do it much during the week…(even things like eating dinner together on the weekends make me happy as Shun is never home early enough during the week for us to eat together and now that the bub is here I am usually in bed by the time he gets home- even if I am still awake and reading)

What do you think?

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In other news Noah and I had an eventful day- we went out by ourselves for the first time (up until now either Shun, or my mum, or both of them have been with us when we have gone into town or out)- all went well and I got to Loft and the grocery store and to pick up a frame that I had ordered. If I am buying nappies though I really can`t buy more than a day or two worth of food since there is only so much I can hang on the pram.

Then we got home, Noah sat in his bouncer while I cleaned up quickly and put the groceries away and then I fed him and then all of a sudden, before he was even finished, he started to spit up and cough so I sat him up and he vomitted about 300ml-400ml of milk which is probably three of his feeds. There was milk EVERYWHERE! All over the sofa, all over me, all over him, all over the blankets that he was wrapped in and all over the floor. Literally my jeans were soaked through to my undies!!! I quickly stripped his clothes and mopped him down and then my own, then rang the hospital to see if I should bring him in and they said yes and so I wrapped him up and just walked to the clinic with him in my arms. The doctor checked him over and said he was constipated from his cold (I didn`t even know this could happen?) and asked me if he had been pooing (and he had, as much as normal anyway) so they gave him an enema and I waited there for awhile while he pooed, then the doctor saw him again and  then fed him a little again to see if he would be sick again but he wasn`t  so we came home with some other medicine to help with his stomach apparently.

The doctor showed me Noah`s legs before the enema and tapped his tummy and showed me how to tell if he is constipated- I don`t really understand the legs thing. I think he was showing me that in a certain part they were a different colour which indicates constipation- does anyone know anything about this?

Noah didn`t even cry when they gave him the enema (or when he was sick earlier)- he just started to get grizzly while we were waiting to see the doctor again and rightfully so as he had thrown up all of his milk and was STARVING! We got home and I did his bath, fed him a little more and have put him down for the night now- just writing this up while the rice is cooking as all the prep for the beef and asparagus oyster sauce stirfry is ready- I just need to chuck it in the pan.

Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful!

• Also knit a hat for Goma-chan using hand spun yarn from Cassie`s shop- I think I may even have enough yarn left to make some matching booties but will see how I go.

• I haven`t had any blood pressure issues at all during my pregnancy but for some reason I am now retaining fluid in my feet- namely my right foot. I think it is my right foot more so because my left foot doesn`t have as good a circulation due to previous ankle injuries. Also, my wedding rings still fit BUT last night my left hand (and only my left hand!) swelled up over night so I took them off just to be on the safe side. Feels weird not to be wearing my wedding rings- I think this is the first time since getting married that they have been off for more than a minute or so.
• Have been busy looking into accommodation for my brother and his girlfriend for their visit to Japan next March/April- They are here for about 16 days so plan to do a fair bit of traveling down to Kyoto (with day trips to Nara & Osaka), Hiroshima, Himeji and then also some day trips out of Tokyo/Chiba while they are staying with us. It is fun helping them plan their trip!!! Should be able to finalize their bookings for them tomorrow!!! I can`t wait for them to get here- Goma-chan will be about 3 and a half months by then and they will be able to meet him for the first time. The plan is for them to stay with us for 3 nights at the start of their trip and then again for 3-4 nights at the end of their trip.
• Nesting seems to have hit me a bit- I can not seem to sit still for very long and keep thinking of things I could do and writing lists of things to do for the following day. I scrubbed the kitchen floor (literally on all fours!), cleaned the stove top and grill and cleaned out the entire fridge all in the last 24 hours. Plus regular things like dusting, washing, repacking my hospital bag for like the 3rd time, cooking and more. Good thing we live in an apartment and I can`t do anything like paint the walls (but I did think about it!)- I think I am definitely getting to the sick of being pregnant stage of pregnancy as well. Seems very hard to find comfortable positions to sit/lay in and my back has been aching (the scrubbing actually helped this though!)

My bus leaves at 9am tomorrow morning and I will be back in Tokyo/Chiba on Wednesday night. Thank god the bus has a toilet since I am starting to feel like I need to live in one with the amount of times I need to pee. I have my most comfty maternity pants ready to put on tomorrow morning and my ipod charged and journal and books ready to go in my handbag.

Last night Shun painted my toenails for me- I can get the nailpolish off but can not stay in the crouched over position long enough to paint them without Goma-chan kicking and hurting me- not that I blame him. I am a little claustrophobic myself and I am sure he is feeling a little like he has no room- more so when I bend over and try to paint my toenails. Shun was not impressed with having to do it but I traded him a smoke on the veranda in exchange (he is supposed to quit smoking by the time the baby arrives- he is doing really badly. For the month of October we made a deal that he would not smoke at home except for the last one before bed until the 15th of the month and then none at home after that. Not that he ever smokes inside, it is always on the veranda but he is still supposed to quit by the start of December.) – so yeah he got to have a cigarette in exchange for painting my toenails. If he hadn`t done it, Nay would of in Shizuoka I am sure. I told him he will need to do it at least once more before the baby comes and he said he can probably handle that….Oh and he did a pretty good job- no better than I would of done.

Yesterday we went out for lunch to try the local yakiniku place which is always PACKED. It is also absurdly expensive for dinner so we knew we were never going to get to go there for dinner anytime soon but they do have nice little lunch sets which are not too badly priced- 1580yen for a plate of “karubi” beef (probably about 300g or 400g), rice, salad, soup (I had spicy Korean soup, i forget the name but it had egg and pork in it too with vegies and kimichi, Shun had the wakame soup), side dishes (kimichi and moyashi bean sprouts with seasame oil and soy sauce), dessert (little tiny piece of chocolate cake with chestnut flavoured icing) and hot green tea. It was REALLY yummy! I can tell why it is always constantly packed with people (we went at almost 2pm and still needed to wait 15 minutes for a table) and there is often even cars lined up outside waiting for a park. Shun was happy he could try it and we both agreed that for a special occasion we would go back for dinner…

I have some stuff going on back home in Australia that is getting me down a little bit. I am hoping that by the end of this week I will know more about what is going on there and what, if anything, I can do from here. I am getting too close to the end of my pregnancy to make a trip back to Australia (just checked and Jetstar allows me to travel internationally up until the end of my 36th week with a letter from the doctor stating the pregnancy is normal. Qantas seems to have similar rules. Good to know) and even if I needed to fly back I am not sure where we would find the extra cash. It is sometimes really hard to be far away from family…

I am 31 weeks pregnant today and it is hard to believe that sometime in the next 8-10 weeks or so we will be welcoming Goma-chan into the world. We have a couple of favourite front-runner names picked out but until I see his face I can not make a decision. At least the kanji for them is also decided though. Hopefully one of the names we have picked out will suit him…

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

Have lots of cute photos of the babies and kids from the weekend- especially Sakura as she was here for 3 full days!

This is Shun trying to get Sakura to smile while she is in the bouncer

Sakura copying me

Sakura having a bit of a sit with Auntie Lulu

On Saturday we went towards Kanagawa-ken to visit Khea and her 3 week old daughter Missha at Starbucks. Was amazing to see the difference between a six week old and a three week old. Missha slept most of the time while we enjoyed our coffees and snacks and Sakura napped also.

Two sleeping beauties

Me holding 3 week old Missha

New mummies- Sarah & Khea with their beautiful daughters.

Nay having a cuddle

On Saturday night I left Sarah & Nay at home and headed to Yurakucho with Shun for Catherine, James, Erika & Tomoko`s joint birthday party- these are all friends from my days as university student at Seikei. James & Catherine have a joint birthday every year but this year Erika and Tomoko joined in as their birthdays also fall in September. It was a September birthday bash! I don`t see a lot of my old uni friends very often so they were all very enamored with the growing bump…especially my friend Hiro! So cute to see a Japanese guy have his hands on the bump going in Japanese “did he kick? Did he kick yet? Was that him?”…None of them had ever touched a pregnant belly before.

Shun & I- Shun was been silly!

Sumi, Hiro & I

James, Gary, Cat & I (plus bump)

Very small part of the birthday party group!

Sunday, Melanie, Taka, Cassie, Gaku & Nanami came for lunch to meet up with Sarah & Nay- this was the first time they were all meeting up.

The girls

The bumps- Melanie is 34 weeks and I am 27 weeks in this shot. My bump is HUGE in comparison as it sticks out so much.

Shun & Nana playing and having fun

Nana, not at all camera shy

There are many more photos over at my flickr.

Was interesting having a near new born in the house over the weekend and watching Shun react. He held Sakura a couple of times but rarely for more than a minute or two. He would hand her back saying “I think she is going to cry” – well yeah honey, babies cry. Silly boy! He liked looking at her though and asking questions and when she was happy and sitting in the bouncer he would try to make her laugh or smile. When I asked him about why he didn`t like to hold her though he said because he was afraid to break her but that I shouldn`t worry because when it is goma-chan he won`t worry about breaking him. Not sure if that should concern me or not?! HAHA.

He is definitely much better with older kids and spent most of Sunday playing with Cassie & Gaku`s daughter Nanami who he had met just once before- before they arrived he asked me “Do you think she will remember me?”. Hard to know since she is such a social little thing and likes EVERYONE but she is only 18 months old so she might not have remembered Shun from the time they met before. They had fun playing together though!!! Melanie`s husband Taka was also a magical worker with Sakura getting her down to sleep while he held her at lunch time! Good thing too as his own daughter will be here soon!!! I am sure he enjoyed the practice and I know Sarah enjoyed having so many people around to hold Sakura on Sunday- she could eat lunch WITHOUT holding a baby at the same time!