Cherry Blossom Adventures

November 26, 2011

Less than a month…

Christmas is now less than a month away.

Where the hell has this year gone? I mean this time last year I was already in Australia, had an almost one year old and was pregnant with #2. It does not seem that long ago. In fact, while it is a a cliche, it seems like just yesterday.

What also doesn`t seem that long ago was giving birth to Shion…I mean he was early so of course it was unexpected but I can`t believe he is now on the verge of walking {he took his first unaided step last weekend, another 2 in a row today but he seems to be content with doing one here and there and crawling the rest of the way. Oh well – I am in now hurry for him to walk!}. Noah turns 2 on the 19th……I will no longer have 2 kids under 2….

Shion is now fine for sleeping. He goes in his bed, he settles himself without crying/tears and sleeps better because of it. He went into bed at 7pm and has not woken up at all since then so far…where as before he would of been up at least once, usually two or more times by now {It`s almost 10pm}……we are also down to one feed over night, usually around 2am but he often wakes 2 other time either before or after but a quick cuddle and a pat on the back and he is fine to resettle himself. It took less than a week of being consistent and there was a lot less tears/crying than I thought there would be. I would like to cut off the overnight feed by the time Christmas rolls around but we will see. I am also looking to wean him…I am all for breastfeeding but I guess because I weaned Noah quite early {before 9 months} that I just feel extended breastfeeding is not for me {although I admire those who do. I guess I am a bit too selfish! Plus Shion keeps biting me and nothing seems to deter him} and want to wean Shion around the time he turns one. I think the best time will be just before he is one over the new years holidays so that Shun can be around to help as I am sure it will not go smoothly.

Noah still doesn`t talk but still trying not to let it get me down too much. I am trying to get him to use his “words” to communicate but we still just get a ton of pointing, grunting and crying. Recently though he has started to say “mama” a lot when he wants my help without prompting {after weeks of me saying- “Noah, if you want me to help then you have to say “Mama, help”}…..he tends to sign “help” though.

I have a lot of Christmas activities plannned to do with Noah and some things we can involve Shion in as well- I have already decorated our flat, planned Christmas eve feast and bought all the boys Christmas and birthday presents {except 3 things I have to pick up from Ikea on Monday}. I still have to shop for my brother, his girlfriend, my dad and Shun though. My mum and the boys though, done! I am hoping “santa” brings me a new computer but I am not liking my chances. I guess an ipad would be my second choice and if that is also a no go then a new wallet would be nice.

I love this time of year but as I was telling a friend recently a cold Christmas is just not the same- for many {well, half the world!!!!} a cold Christmas is the norm but I grew up with swimming and seafood and long summer school holidays at this time of year and I do wonder if I will ever get to the point where having Christmas here is as good as having it at home. Perhaps it is also the fact that Shun doesn`t really “get” why I like Christmas so much and try to make it so special. He has been in Australia for 2 Christmas`s but I guess it still hasn`t rubbed off on him yet….

At least this year it is on a Sunday so he has the whole day off {plus the 23rd, a public holiday, and of course the 24th is a Saturday}….3 days of Christmas cheer!

The next month is hectic though! Next week we have trips to Ikea, Cost-co and the embassy planned as well as our regular rhythmic class, possible coffee date and work planned. I am FINALLY apply for Shion`s official Australian passport {his emergency passport expired last month} and last week I applied for his Japanese one so he will soon be officially able to travel! I have work the next couple of weekends, a Bonenkai {end of year party}, Rhythmic class Christmas party, the boys birthday party {11th…Wiggles themed!}, a friends son`s birthday party and then Christmas followed closely by New Years. Yes. Crazy like.

We have Noah`s follow up assessment {for speech delay and ASD} on the 7th and then numerous other plans.

This was technically our last “free” weekend day actually. Tomorrow we have some professional family photos scheduled but today we originally had no plans so decided to have a real family day with a trip the local zoo {was great!}, play in the park and okonomiyaki for dinner. Today was awesome actually. It was Shun`s idea to go to the zoo and I am so glad we got up and got going early- Noah loved roaming around and it wasn`t so crowded so he could go where he pleased. He enjoyed patting the Guinea pigs, the regular pigs, some goats, chicks and a sheep as well as seeing a ton of other animals. This mini zoo is a 10 minute drive from where we live but we had never been before {and neither had Shun despite having lived in the area for um…30 years1}. Shion was a bit grumpy but he is at that age where he wants to be held by me…ALL THE TIME. He sat on the top of the pram though and had a good view while Noah ran around. They also had a mini train you could ride and a park so Noah had a blast! It will be nice once Shion is walking and climbing in that sense because all he wants to do is play and follow his brother but it is not always possible {at the local park I usually let him crawl around but he is still in the mouthing stage so he tends to eat a lot of grass or chew on inappropriate things. The other day he also kissed a poodle!}. We ate lunch there before coming home for naps {and I went to do the weeks food shopping} and then went out to the local park once the boys were awake! Such a nice family day, just the four of us.

I have a Tot School post coming although we haven`t done much the last two weeks although we have spent a TON of time outside and made lots of “new” friends at the park. There is a little girl Mao-chan, about 9 months older than Noah, and they have a blast running around together. She is always like “Noah-kun to asobitai yo” {I want to play with Noah-kun} when we arrive at the park if she is already there or if they come after us she yells from her mum`s bike “Noah-kun, Noah-kun, Mao-chan da yo” {Noah-kun, Noah-kun, It`s Mao-chan}….she calls Shion “Noah no akachan” {Noah`s baby} and always wants to touch his cheeks. They play really well together and it is fun to watch!

We had our Jichinsai { Shinto land blessing} on Friday- slab gets porn this coming week. I will post photos soon. A house update in general is needed I guess since everything is now decided and building is starting. Shun`s parents house is now completely cleared from the land and our house outline is marked out with string. Seems so strange to stand on there now and think “wow, we will be living here next year” – exciting though as well!
Well I guess that is all- just felt I hadn`t blogged an update in awhile. Lots happening but nothing terribly exciting! Have an early start tomorrow {we all have to be up about 6am so we can leave at 7:30 to get to Aoyama for the photo-shoot} so best sign off and head to bed!

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November 21, 2011

Sleep training Shion…

Firstly- thank you to all who commented on the post below or messaged me privately. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends and readers. I am trying not to let Noah`s lack of words stress me out too much and hoping he is just a late talker but will eventually catch up with his peers in both of his languages.

We have been sleep training Shion over the last week- I did it much earlier with Noah and from six months Noah would go down for naps by himself with out issues and once he was weaned onto soy formula at 8.5 months he basically slept through the night 99% of the time since. Noah was also pretty easy to sleep train- the first 2-3 nights were hellish where I did the controlled crying method and he never really cried a lot but I had to go in every 5 minutes or so to “shh shh shh” him although I found playing a CD for him seemed to really help him settle. Shion has been a whole different story- perhaps it is because he is still breastfed { I weaned Noah because I was pregnant with him on advice of my doctor due to pre-term labour issues I had with Noah- subsequently I still gave birth to Shion prematurely but that is a whole different issue}. Shion slept through from 3-6 months as well and them stopped over the summer never really getting back into a good sleep routine and started to rely on feeding for sleep a lot and I knew if I didn`t stop this then it would be so much harder to wean him and sleep train him.

I know some think feeding on demand is the way to go and also feeding til baby is asleep- I kind of agree for the first six months but then I think teaching a child to go to sleep by themself is a special gift. Nothing worse than wanting to sleep but not been able to make yourself go to sleep.

It is hard to be consistent though when you have another child to worry about.

So firstly I changed up his feeding schedule and now that he is eating a lot more tried to cut back on the breastfeeding. Now he goes about 4 hours between feeds {instead of 2.5 hours} having one at about 2am, 6 or 7am, 10 or 11am, 3pm and then before bed from about 6:30pm. He feeds both sides for his last feed but usually just one side for the others. He naps at about 9 or 9:30am but only for a short time- usually 30 minutes or an hour and then again for a longer nap from 12 or 12:30 at the same time as Noah. He might nod off for 20-30 minutes again late afternoon if we are out and about in the stroller or carrier if I have taken Noah to the park but more often than not he just has the two naps and then goes down to bed about 7pm.

I put him in his bed and say “Sleep time Shion”, pat him on the bum {he sleeps on his front now} and then leave the room. At night I wait outside his door but for naps I just go back downstairs as we don`t really have any problems with naps so far {touch wood!} and he doesn`t cry. At night he cries but not hysterical crying and sometimes he just goes “waa”……stops and chats and plays then goes “waaa” again to let me know he is still awake. Last night was the worst night so far- he cried on and off for 45 minutes but he wasn`t gassy or hungry. It think he was just overtired. Once he was asleep though {in those 45 minutes I went back up 5 times- he didn`t cry continuously but he didn`t settle well either} he slept through until almost 2:30- I heard him cry out once at 10:30 but before I had even got off the sofa he was already back to sleep. I wait outside his room at first to see how he will go because I put Noah into his bed at the same time and I don`t want Shion getting stressed out to upset Noah as well. So far we have not had any issues though and it takes Noah awhile to fall asleep anyway as he seems to need to wind down by himself for 30 minutes or so before he sleeps- he just plays in his bed, in the dark, though without any issues. Shion woke up again at 4am this morning, but after 2 burps he went back to sleep til 7am.

Basically if he wakes up before 1am I just pick him up, give him a cuddle then put him back in his bed. He still gets gassy so sometimes I can tell by the way he holds his body if he is uncomfortable. Once he wakes up after 1am I feed him and then the hope is that he goes back to sleep til at least 6am. Anytime after 6 then we just get up for the day so I will feed him still in bed but he is not usually so interested as he just wants to start playing.

So we are down to 5 feeds a day {6 if he has an extra feed overnight but I try not to jsut feed him back to sleep if I can unless he is obviously hungry}. I guess the method we are using is controlled crying although last night was really the only night {of the last 5} that he cried much. One of the nights in the last 5 he was asleep when I put him in bed….he fed and just wouldn`t wake back up so I ended up putting him asleep but without fail he wakes up within an hour so I know letting him put himself to sleep makes for a more restful sleep for him.

Hopefully within the next week he will be fine for naps and nights and then we can start working on weaning him onto formula {will do it when he is around one} and getting him to sleep through from 7:30 til 6am or later.

Some people say they hate to hear their babies cry. I agree- it is not pleasant. That said- I think Shion is old enough now to be able to cry a little bit without actually NEEDING me to pick him up. Luckily the only time he has cried for more than 5 minutes was last night in this process. Today first nap was in the stroller but for second nap he didn`t even make a peep…well not an unhappy peep…I did hear him “chatting” for a couple of minutes at first.

Did you have trouble teaching your kids to go to sleep by themselves? Did you co-sleep? {Shion is in our room but has his own bed- he will have his own room in the new house though and Noah has always slept in his own room}? Do you swear by a certain method? I have never heard anyone say they regret sleep training although I have heard a lot of mothers say it was hard…what do you think?

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November 18, 2011

Words…

Yesterday at playgroup a friend asked me if Noah was stringing words together to form sentences or putting two words together.

I was {unfortunately} a bit short with her and I replied with “He doesn`t say anything”. I felt bad afterwards…her son is 3 months younger than Noah and already saying quite a lot in both English & Japanese. I don`t think he is stringing two or three words together yet though. She was just asking but it is so hard for me to see other kids improving on their language skills each time I see them when Noah isn`t- he communicates by screaming at me or crying or signing or saying “du” and pointing.

I know deep down that eventually Noah will talk. I also know that I shouldn`t compare him to other kids as it is not fair to him or to me. I feel like it is my fault though. What is that I am doing wrong? Why doesn`t he speak?

There are two other boys born the same month as Noah at playgroup- one is from a bilingual home and the other is full-Japanese but both parents can speak English as well. Both kids speak quite a lot- the first in both English & Japanese and the other in just Japanese. People say “boys talk later” or “bilingual children speak later” yet these two boys are fine. It is just mine that isn`t. I feel like people look at him and think he doesn`t speak because of something I have done or not done. They probably aren`t thinking that but I am almost certain some people are…

I am sick of people asking me “Is he talking more yet?” or “Does he say________?”

As I write I have tears streaming down my face for the words my son should be able to say but can`t. He should be pointing things out to me and yelling their names but he just points at things and grunts or says “aa” or “du”…

Today we had rhythmic class…I did not translate for Noah but I didn`t speak to him in Japanese either. It kind of meant that I was pretty much silent most of the lesson. The teacher spoke to me before class and said she had spoken with a foreign friend about it {She said she takes English lessons from an Australian guy married to a Japanese and they are expecting their first baby} and he had said that he also thought I should not speak Japanese to my son if I always usually spoke English. She kind of apoligised for suggesting it but still asked that we see how Noah go trying to understand the teachers without me telling him what they said and i said fine. she said if it didn`t work of it distressed him we would think of something else He went okay I guess- he copied the other students but he also looked blank a lot and when he gets frustrated he lays down on the floor and bangs his own head against the wooden floor {the back of it}- I try to stop him or put my hands under his head before he does it but sometimes I can`t.

At home he does the same thing. Or he scratches at his own face. Or mine. Or kicks me. I am not sure what I should do.

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November 14, 2011

A week of completely unplanned tot school…

Noah is almost 23 months old now and we had no theme last week- just kind of did a lot of playing {wooden blocks have been a favourite the past week as well as duplo, cars, and play food.

We also had a coffee date with friends, Noah`s health assessment and a ton of walks/play in the park or in-laws garden.

I didn`t organize anything but I pulled out a couple of random activities when we had the chance.

We played playdoh for the first time in ages- Noah was quite into it and I even let Shion have a try too. Shion of course tried to eat it but when he realized it didn`t taste so great he enjoyed smushing it between his fingers. I should really make some playdoh soon so that at least I know what is in it so that if Shion does eat a bit it won`t matter so much…

We worked on dressing and undressing. Noah is getting quite good at taking his clothes off especially his pants/nappy but gets frustrated by his sleeves and sweaters. He can put his shoes on now though {and he likes to practice a lot!}

Not much art & craft last week except for some regular drawing and sticker work. He also did a collage at rhythmic class which turned out cute. Ripped up origami paper, glue and and drop the paper on top and then push it with a sponge to make it flat and shake off the excess pieces. When this activity was finished he got upset because he wanted to make another one!!!

Noah has never seen a real acorn. I looked for some around here without luck so he has had to rely on pictures and in stories. I was surprised when we did the sticker sheet above when he was done and I asked him to point out the apples, flowers and bird and then acorn that he actually got it right.

Noah loves these stacking and nesting cups {Shion too!}- he loves to lay them all out and then get me to say colours for him to find so I knew that he would like this activity. I used brightly coloured paddle pop sticks and the same coloured cups and he sorted them out for me. Then dumped them all back in the basket and did it again….5-6 times in a row! In the first photo the red is missing….I didn`t realize. When he first picked up a red stick he looked at it, then put it back in the basket and picked up a different colour…It was only then that I realized my mistake!

I have been meaning to set up some indoor water play for Noah and recently saw someone do bubble whisking on their blog {I think it was here.)- first I poured in the water and put it on the floor, then I gave him the dye and he added some and i added some dish soap and gave him the whisk and showed him how to make bubbles. After he whisked up some bubbles he used the funnels and water container to pour water back and forth. He loved the funnels.

No photos but he helped me clean up the spills once he was done with the towel underneath and another old towel.

As I mentioned already we went for a lot of walks. On Saturday while Shion was napping we went out for a walk just Noah & I- Noah had fun finding things to balance on!

{Not sure why the titles of those two photos are snack time}

Whenever we go out for a walk the first thing Noah likes to do is go a couple of houses up our street to check on the cats- Can`t really see very well in this photo but there is a black and white cat in the garden.

We did a TON of reading last week. Noah is going through another book phase and likes me to read the same books over and over again. We always read 3-4 books before nap and then 5-10 before bed {sometimes they are double ups!} but lately he has bringing other books to me at different times and it is great to snuggle up on the sofa or beanbag and have him so engrossed in the stories. Sometimes he hold up 1 finger and signs “more” telling me “just one more” when I tell him that we are finished reading and it is time for bed! hehe! It is hard to resist!

Linking up to 1+1+1=1, Living Life Intentionally & Montessori Monday.

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November 13, 2011

Shion- 10 months…

Dear Shion,

You are now 10 months old and yes I was a slack mama again and am already a week late with the update but honestly that is because you are such a busy little man and combine your mischief with your brother running about as well definitely keeps me on my toes so hence the late letter. I wrote these letters to your brother for the first year of his life and plan to do the same for you…hard to believe that in less than two months you will be a year old.

Not much has changed this last month except you are way too fast for your own good when it comes to crawling and can now stand unaided for a couple of seconds or so- you have perfected the crawl, stand up on something, grab what you want and drop to crawl position to crawl away at top speed with whatever it is you SHOULDN`T be playing with/eating/touching. You LOVE the freezer. I swear if anyone opens the freezer you are standing there within a second putting your hands in the ice or trying to grab out your food…it helps that it is a perfect standing height for you {it is at the bottom of the fridge}- to close it I have to remove your hands and hold you up with one hand while closing the freezer with my other. You cry/whimper every time the freezer closes!

Your favourite toys are duplo blocks {great for chewing…and banging together}, balls, stacking cups and the key shaped piece from one of Noah`s wooden puzzles {again, great to chew on apparently}, leapfrog ABC magnets, the moving thomas train and my plastic salad spinner.

You now have four teeth- your top two teeth popped through without as much as a whine from you it seems. Unfortunately for me this means you find biting me and others extremely funny. Including while you are feeding. You think that biting me is hilarious no matter how much I yelp.

Talking about feeding you still breastfeed like your life depends on it. I extremely doubt it does now that you are eating so much food so I think you should cut back on the overnight and early morning feeds…what do you say? During the day you are okay. You feed at about 9, 12 or 12:30, 4pm and then again at 6:30-7 before bed. Overnight you feed 3 times most nights…Oh and food- you eat three decent meals a day, – some cereal with mashed fruit in the morning with a quarter of toast, finger fruits/veg and cheese at lunch with a baby food mash of some kind and then a mashed dinner and a baby yogurt. You will usually have a rice cracker snack during the day as well. Oh and while I was giving you a bottle of formula most days I am now too lazy….you only have formula now if I am at work and not home for one of your feeds. I should probably get back into giving you a bottle each day otherwise I know later on you will be a nightmare to wean.

You are starting to thin out a bit now that you are on the move- you were getting so chubby which we LOVED since you were so tiny to begin with. Your face is thinning out and I think you only gained about 200g this month so I guess you are hitting your plateau!

You and Noah play together a lot now. Noah wants to play blocks…so you sit and chew them next to him. Noah has a snack. You want a snack too. You play with the magnets on the fridge…Noah runs over to push the button so that it plays the ABC song and you will push cars around on the floor together and play peek a book with the curtains. You seem to entertain yourselves by entertaining each other. Of course you are not much into fighting back yet so when Noah steals your toy you just take it…..he is nice enough to usually give you something in return {today he wanted the wooden car you had…so he gave you his drink bottle with no water in it…You love his drink bottle so this was fine by you apparently!}

When we do Tot School activities you like to be involved to so I have set up some younger child friendly things lately and you get into it. Love it when I give you an object/toy you have never seen before and it is amazing to watch you turn it around in your hands…touch it…put it in your mouth…look at it again…shake it. You use all of your senses to suss it out.

You are a smiley little guy, always coming for a hug and you love other people but in recent weeks you have started to get a bit more anxious if I am not around or put you down after holding you. You are fine to be left with your daddy or Baba & Jiji but you often get a bit funny when I first leave the room or if I can`t pick you up when you want me to {ie, while cooking or changing Noah`s nappy!}. You are now at that “mama is best” stage where you want me to do everything for you and not anyone else where as up until now you haven`t really cared.

For your first ever Halloween we dressed you up as edamame/soy bean- as you were edamame-chan while you were still in my belly it seemed fitting. You didn`t mind your costume but you are usually pretty easy going about that sort of thing.

You are not as into reading books as I would like- we are working on this. So far the only books that I read to you that you don`t try to eat are “Time for bed” by Mem Fox and “What Does Baby Say” by Karen Katz. All others you don`t mind listening to me read from afar while playing with something else {so while I read to Noah for example} or you like to try and chew on them while I am reading making it almost impossible to turn the pages. Not to mention that the books are now missing chunks. I would appreciate it if you would kindly STOP EATING THE BOOKS!

We are now gearing up for Christmas and santa has already started shopping for you I am sure. At least if I was santa I would of started by now but I am a bit of an organized freak like that. I think Noah will end up more like me but you seem more laid back…like your daddy {and your Uncle Paulie}! Perhaps you will be one of those Christmas eve shoppers I have heard about?

I wonder if this is the month you will walk? I hope not! I would like you to wait a bit longer if possible…okay?

Love ya buddy,
Mama

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November 11, 2011

What to do…

I was all ready to write Shion`s 10 month letter but I guess I will get to it over the weekend as I have some questions to ask.

Noah has been doing rhythmic class now for 2 months and he seems to enjoy it. It is all based in Japanese but a lot of it is about listening the music and moving to the music as well as the occasional art activity mixed in with using musical instruments.

Noah is the youngest in the class by 3 months and the oldest is almost 3 {I guess she will move to another class next year as this class is from eighteen months to three. There are 6 kids in the class and that is the max.

I started this class with Noah so that he & I could have some one on one time as we leave Shion with my in-laws for the hour we are gone. Since the first class Noah has gotten better at listening to me during the class and following the other students. The other reason we looked into rhythmic class was because it is sometimes used with kids with ASD and we were still quite concerned about Noah. I wrote about how we recently started the process of having him tested here and we have follow up in early December. I also touched on our concerns here & here. Mainly speech regression and the fact he is a late talker coupled with some other quirks. Thankfully some of the quirks have almost disappeared {He would insist on his left shoe going on first, his drink been in the same place everytime, the white and/or black legos going back in the box last as well as his purple crayon going back into the box last as well- these no longer happen as often as before}.

Anyway there are two teachers in the rhythmic class. Today they pulled me aside after class to say they were concerned that Noah doesn`t understand what they say to him. I always sing in Japanese but I talk to him in English during class. I always speak English to him. I don`t want or plan to speak Japanese to him. Sometimes I will repeat what the teacher says in japanese then say it in English for him as well. They want me to stop doing this as they are worried that when he goes to yochien/kindy he will have problems. I said he lives around Japanese all the time- I am the main English input in his life but Shun speaks a mix of both languages to him and his grandparents here speak Japanese. If we go to jidokan or something he hears Japanese, he hears me speak Japanese a lot {just not directly to him} and he watches a Japanese kids show on tv some mornings.

I am not sure what to take of this. They asked me to stop “translating” for him in class. Ie, when they tell the kids to put the instruments back they don`t want me to say “Noah, put your tamborine back please” or when they ask him what colour he wants for me to say “Noah what colour do you want”. He always looks to me to tell him what to do while the other kids will do what the teachers ask because obviously they are full Japanese from Japanese speaking homes plus they are all older than Noah.

I said that if they didn`t want me to speak English in class then perhaps we should finish up with rhythmic class as I was not going to be comfortable speaking to him in Japanese and I was not going to speak Japanese to him during the 45 minute class each week. I like the teachers I do, I like the class too- none of the mothers have made a big deal over the fact that Noah is not full-Japanese and I always speak to their kids in Japanese and to them as well.

Noah`s Japanese understanding is very poor. His English understanding is excellent. Especially considering he doesn`t speak much {so it certainly is not a hearing issue although we will have his hearing checked soon as part of the ASD and speech issue checking}. Shun could ask Noah to sit down in Japanese and he wouldn`t do it but if he repeated “sit down please” in English he would. I am not worried really that Noah doesn`t understand much Japanese- i know that once he hits kindergarten his Japanese will probably become his stronger language which is why I am working so hard on making English is first SPOKEN language and why we read so many books, watch mainly English media and try to keep English inside the home.

What would you do in this situation? Would you speak Japanese for the 45 minutes during class? They have asked me next time to try not to translate what they say for Noah and try and to see how much he understands- they don`t mind if I don`t speak Japanese. If I am talking to Noah about something else then English is fine. Am I making thing harder for him in the long run by translating for him?

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November 6, 2011

Tot School- Halloween…

Noah is 22.5 months old & Shion is 10 months old {today!}

We continued on with some autumn themed activities, halloween themed activities and some general montessori type activities.

We were sick the first week but surprisingly this meant we got a lot done since we were home. Most of the below is from the week before last as this past week was spent catching up on everything we needed to do but we still got some things in.

We don`t have a set “school” day or anything- I do activities when we have time, when Noah seems like he would be interested and/or depending on what it is we plan to do then I will try and do it while Shion is napping {as it is a good time for Noah & I to have some 1 on 1 time without distraction as well}

I have split our work into categories below but some cross over into another category as well {for example a lot of what we do does help with fine motor skills but I would usually put it in sensory or maths}

Art & Craft

Salad spinner art with autumn coloured paint. This was a bit of a flop {from my point of view} but Noah loved it which is the main thing. I had seen this type of thing done before but I didn`t really look up how it was done and just cut a circle of paper, popped it in our salad spinner {which sits on a shelf and the boys can reach it anytime as they like to take it apart and put it back together anyway} and some paint and showed Noah how to hold the lid on and spin {which he loved}- the art we made was a bit of a flop but it was still cute. I think I should of watered down the paint a bit more.

Noah decorated a pumpkin then stuck face on- I directed him by saying “Do the eyes first, then nose, then mouth and he helped me put the glue on but he was really interested in the glue so I let him put some on a different piece of paper and ripped up some orange and black construction paper and he did an impromptu collage. I loved this and so did he! He enjoyed having the control over the glue himself {I got this glue sent over from America- up until now the glue has not been something he could really manage himself but this brand/bottle is great for toddler hands!}

Noah doesn`t talk much as most of you know so he can`t tell me what it is he draws but he gets really into it, chooses different colours, makes marks, thinks a bit, then does some more. He has started to do circles with what look to be eyes/mouths inside too which is so cute. He does “coloring” everyday- sometimes several times a day.

Plus some regular “colouring”- L is for Leaf!

Birthday card for a friend

Leaf, autumn coloured tissue paper and sticker collage

Regular halloween stickers- we do sticker work every week without fail. It is one of Noah`s favourite things!!

Practical Life & Fine Motor Skills

I tried to introduce a towel folding practical life work to Noah but he was uninterested {the folded ones to his left are ones I folded} – instead he enjoyed throwing them around the room. I tried larger tea towels as well. Oh well- we will try again in the future! Perhaps I didn`t introduce it to him properly.

Actually a lot of the practical life and fine motor activities I set up did not interest Noah this time around. Lacing {an apple!} was no good and even beading was not a hit this time around unless I was holding the pipe cleaner or lace.

The beads were orange and red for autumn!

One practical life activity that was a hit was a new open and close basket { well open and close box} – this time I put laminated leaves and pumpkins inside the items for him to find and try to match up to another sheet. He was not so interested in matching up but he loved the fact that they were in there.

By the way- since we don`t have extra shelves or a classroom I often just put 2 or 3 activities for Noah to choose from on our bottom step. He can then carry them to the sofa or the mat on the floor to work on. He is supposed to take them back when he is finished- this is something we are working on. I can`t leave these things out full-time due to Shion but eventually I would like to have another set of shelves set up with things the boys can take down and do themselves anytime they like.

Noah is far from learning how to write but in order to give him the skills to have a good dexterity in his wrists/hands and also to start teaching proper pen/pencil control I laminated this sheet for him to practice tracing. He loved the sheet and the dry erasing but of course is not quite at the stage that he can trace the lines- he will eventually be able to though. I will have to print and make some more…

I am starting to work with Noah on teaching him how to dress himself- so far he can get his own shoes and socks off and put most of his shoes on {at least one shoe}. He can also take off his own pants but hasn`t quite mastered putting them on. He loves clips and buttons and can put clips together but not undo them {like on the pram, ergo, etc}. Quite a few months back I bought this puzzle as dressing frames to teach kids how to do zips, buttons, snaps, velcro etc are a montessori work that is seen in many montessori homes and schools. I couldn`t justify purchasing these works but thought this puzzle would make a nice addition to our collection. It stays upstairs most of the time but I bought it down this week and both boys had fun playing with it {even though neither actually did up or opened things really}

We are doing a lot of “care of self” work lately as well- Noah will try to brush his hair and he is working hard at washing his hands {loves the water running…not sure how clean his hands are getting though} but he hates to dry them when we are done. Any advice to encourage him to do this himself rather than me to do it for him?

Math & Sensory

I cut some pumpkin shaped felt pieces and some face parts out of black felt and let Noah play with it. I had a couple of pictures of Jack -o-lanterns up so he could refer to them if he wished. He enjoyed this and I pulled it down 3-4 times for him over the week.

Noah saw the counting bears in the cupboard one evening and asked for them so I pulled out the number cards again as well as the pattern cards. He had a ball! As you can see he is in his PJs and when I told him we would have to put him away as it was time for some stories and bed he threw a bit of a fit.

What was supposed to be a practical life pouring exercise {it flopped since he wanted to just throw them around. I had not had this problems with beans so next time will stick to harder substances} turned into a pom pom colour sorting exercise with some plastic stacking cups. Noah did this over and over again several times.

The narrow to wide puzzle came out again {much to Noah`s delight- this has become a fav!}

Halloween sticky window gels

On a different day…Shion really wanted to join in as well but sadly just kept trying to eat them so I had to move them out of his “grabbing” range.

We played a game where Noah would throw the dice and show me the card that represented the number he threw on the dice- he didn`t really understand so instead we had fun throwing the dice and talking about the different numbers and pictures. Since he had seen a lot of Jack -o-lanterns that week he seemed very drawn to them.

One to one corrospondance with marbles. This went much better than last time!

Music & Language

I made a P is for pumpkin letter box. Both boy played with this a couple of times. Noah also did some coloring sheets found in it and a sticker sheet {the sheet is actually for magnets but the round stickers we have are perfect for it}

Exploring

Shion played too!

We also had a couple days where we had a music jam with our instruments {and pots and pans on another day!}- I sang some songs and the boys tried the different instruments. These are out, down low, for them to play with anytime {in a basket}.

We didn`t have many Halloween themed books so we continued with some of our Autumn themed books but mainly I just let Noah choose any books he wanted to read and I tried to spend even more time than usual reading with him. Most nights before bed he would manage to con me into a ton of stories before we went upstairs- I think on one day we read 11 books before bed despite having read before nap and also at a couple other times of the day. What can I say? We love books!

Other Tot School & Life School

Noah enjoyed an apple snack {although of course he did not eat the apple…he is an extremely picky eater} and a lots of walks outside {once we were feeling a bit better}

The ears on this face are chestnut bread- he LOVED that part of it!

Oh, he found one!

Baby School

I try to include Shion where possible- he adores his big brother and wants to try and do whatever he is doing so some of our things I wait to do when he is napping. Other times I try to have something else set up for him.

Here are some pictures of baby school for Shion.

A autumn themed sensory basket {with an added slinky!}

A wagon ride with big brother

Exploring outside

I put a couple of alphabet magnets in a slice tin after he woke up from his nap one day {while Shion was still sleeping}- he loved this but it was no surprise as he loves pulling them off the fridge too.

I put out a couple of things for Shion, again after his nap but while Noah still slept, to give him a choice of what he wanted to look at/taste/touch.

While Noah did some art another day I put a couple of our dining room chairs out in a row for Shion to practice his standing and walking. He liked this {and Noah wanted to stop to have a go as well!}. I think Shion will walk before he is one!

Printables seen in this post came from 1+1+1=1, Making Learning Fun, Confessions of a Homeschooler & Homeschool Creations.

Linking up to 1+1+1=1, Montessori Monday, & Living Life Intentionally.

Nothing organized really for Tot School for the next couple of weeks- the theme will be feelings, family and body but we were so busy this weekend and late last week I had lesson prep for my Saturday classes so nothing organized yet. We might just wing it- will try and think up some fun art activities and get Noah involved in some more practical life aspects of his home life as well as some other Montessori style works.

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November 4, 2011

Hesitation…

I have hesitated to post about this but have thought it over for a couple days and have decided to go ahead and do it anyway.

On Monday we have a therapist coming to the house to undertake preliminary testing with Noah to see whether he has an Autism Spectrum Disorder {ASD}, a speech development issue or something else. We have had concerns for awhile, his speech is not really getting any better and some of his behaviours are not in the normal realm of toddlerdom.

I know some won`t agree with our decision but now that we have an appointment all I feel is relief. It will either put my mind at ease or put us heading in the right direction to help him. I am hoping that it will be a matter of him needing some speech therapy or perhaps this last year has just taken it`s toll on him and all he really does need is more time. Either way, I should know more next week.

You have no idea how many times I have told myself “He will grow out of it” or have had other people say the same thing. When I question why he does not talk people say “Oh, he will”- but a mother`s gut instinct is nothing to be messed with.

It looks as though it will be a play based assessment, they know English is the language he understand more of and we are really lucky to have someone come to the house as at least they will see him in his “true” environment. Shun can`t take off work {although he organized this appointment} but he will be easy to reach at the time if need be.

I am nervous from a language point of view but ultimately I know most people understand what I am trying to say even if my Japanese is not grammatically correct all the time. I am nervous for Noah too. He already has a “label” {half Japanese, Engish speaking etc etc} and I am hesitant to take him down a road that may give him more but ultimately knowing whether there is something going on or not will give us the tools to help him reach his full potential and give him the coping mechanisms to succeed and deal with all that life throws at him.

He is 22.5 months. Still young. No matter what happens- a diagnosis or not, it won`t change who he is or how we feel about him. It will hopefully only make things easier whether he does have an ASD, a speech issue, something else, or no issues at all.

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October 31, 2011

A growing list…

I have a growing list. It grows and grows and grows. It is a list of books I want for my boys. The list has more than 100 books on it and I think the boys probably have close to 200 books now. I have never sat down and counted them though…

I read reviews online, or see a book somewhere and think “Oh I want that” but I have had to curb my book buying expenditure lately {as I was racking up quite the credit card bill buying books on amazon.co.jp!}

I haven`t even started writing a list of books that I want them to read or read with them once they are a bit older- I am still focusing on picture books at the moment. I have two lists- one is just any book and the other is books by Australian authors or books with an Australian feel- inspired by Medea who is always on the hunt for Canadian literature to share with her kids!

Around the time Noah was 18 months I wrote a post with a list of his favourite books at the time. Some are still favourites that he drags out most days but he has also taken to a few different books lately.

So another list {yep, I love lists!} of some of his favourites now as an almost 2 year old.

His all time favourite book at the moment is

Big Brother, Little Brother by Penny Dale

This was a Christmas present for Noah that I bought in Australia. He was not interested in it at first but over the summer I put it back on the bookshelves and I am pretty sure I have read it everyday since. This is a book that he will sit and flick through himself all the time. I didn`t really think he “got” it but he loves it when I say something like “Shion is your little brother, hey”. The illustrations are really cute and the story is simple enough for a child Noah`s age.

Does a kangaroo have a mother, too? by Eric Carle

I don`t think I have ever read an Eric Carle book that kids didn`t like. I think Noah loves this one for the repetition more than anything…and the animals! He loves that some of the animals he knows appear in this story as well as other stories- even though he might not of seen those animals in real life before. Whenever we get to the penguin and swan page he always signs “bird” at me excitedly.

Look and find with Harold- Thomas & Friends

I picked this book up second hand at Book Off months ago for 300yen and it was on the shelves at our old place {in the living room} but it ended up in the bookshelves in Noah`s bedroom and I only bought it downstairs again recently. Noah loves trains right and he giggles when I say “Look again” because this book has a flap, and then a flap underneath the flap while they look for Henry.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

I remember loving this book when I was younger so it makes me so happy to see Noah {and Shion} enjoying it as well. Noah loves the beginning and end pages {inside covers} as it has the different animals and he likes me to name them for him or find the ones I ask him to find. If we are reading this book and get to the frog he jumps up to find his froggy blanket- it is cute that he has made the connection!

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

I had heard great things about this book but hadn`t actually read it myself {as an ex kindy teacher I had read a ton of different books, many of which my kids now own!} but I got it off amazon a couple months back and it has become a fast favourite. On the last page when I announce that we have found the green sheep Noah gets so excited- he also loves the page with the train {see, train obsessed!} and will often get me to read that page several times before we move on. This is a book that Shion really seems to like too and usually gets a giggle!

{First} Body

It is not actually the one above but it is similar {and we do own this one as well!}- mum sent a package over to me a month or so back and this book was in there as an “extra” for the boys. Noah took to it straight away because it has pictures of real people- his favourite page is titled “faces” and has kids doing funny, happy, tired, scared, laughing, naughty and more faces. He often brings the book open to me on that page already so that I can do the faces for him. He knows almost all of his body parts now too- even some of the more complicated ones like elbows and chin!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault

This is a great book! I loved it when I was teaching and I still love it now- like Eric Carle`s books I don`t think I have ever read a kids book by Bill Martin Jr that I didn`t like {and of course their collaborated work is genius!}- it has a great rhythm and it is a nice introduction to the alphabet. I think the silly characters climbing to the coconut tree is cute and Noah thinks so too. His favourite part is the black eyed “P”- he always points it out and laughs. I guess because none of the other letters have black parts. I love that Lois Ehlert {Illustrator- she has some of her own books as well} makes the kids in the book lower case letters and the adults uppercase letters.

Giggle Giggle Quack by Doreen Cronin

Personaly I think he likes this book because I make funny noises and he just likes me to make a fool of myself! The pictures in this are especially cute.

The Little Red Caboose- A little Golden Book

I bought a whole bunch of Little Golden Books before I even found out I was pregnant with Noah. I had about 30 of them {plus a selection of other books} for my future kids starter library. We had a ton of them when we were younger {such a shame we didn`t keep our childhood books!} and they were always favourites. We don`t have any other books soley about trains {that are not “Thomas & Friends} but when I introduced this to Noah originally he was not interested. The text and pictures were too small for him I guess and the story too long. Now he will happily sit and read through this himself. He will stop every so often to make the sign for “train”….

Hand hand fingers thumb by Al Perkins

For me, I love the size of this book. It basically can go anywhere with us- and I have read it so many times that I can recite it from memory anytime as well. Noah loves the “dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum” repitition- he knows the book so well that I can read and he will turn the pages at the right time every time. I also exagerate the word “more” when MORE monkeys come with MORE fingers. This is a favourite with Shion too!

I love that he enjoys books and reading so much. He still loves anything by Eric Carle, Karen Katz, Eric Hill {Spot!}, Dr Seuss and Mem Fox.

It is nice now that a mix of Noah`s favourite books are paper based and he treats them with care {most of the time!} of course with Shion on the move now we have to be a bit careful though. Noah will often take a paper book off Shion and give him a board or cloth book to chew on instead.

Shion likes books too. He prefers to try to eat them though. I never had this problem with Noah…Shion loves listening though and comes to climb on my lap if I am reading to Noah. I love it when I read to both boys at the same time on the beanbag, it makes me so happy. I try also to read a book or two just with Shion each day {usually if he is awake while Noah naps} as well but of course he is listening in or reading with us at different times of the day as well.

Would love book suggestions to add to my growing list! I will look them up and add them to my list if we don`t already have them!

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October 25, 2011

The sickies…

We are all sick at the moment. I have mastitis {again!} and a throat infection which has also turned into an ear infection and the boys have a colds and Noah also seems to have a throat infection but I am not sure about Shion. Everyone is miserable! My husband was an ass yesterday morning but made up for it last night {bringing me chocolate home and saying sorry for been an ass!} and then this morning too when he got up with both boys at 5:30, did their breakfast, let me sleep in until after 8 and then organized for Noah to go to spend some time with Jiji {Shun`s dad} and he bought Shion up to me to feed and put down for a nap. Shion and I lazed around in bed until a bit after 9 and then I called for Jiji to bring Noah back just before 10am. Yesterday my fever went over 38 degrees but with meds it seems to have come down. Noah had a HUGE fever last Friday which was before he showed any symptoms of been sick – he just woke up screaming with an almost 40 degree fever.

Shion has just started to get sick so I guess it could go on for awhile. I am really hoping we are all well by the weekend. It is exhausting looking after 2 sick kids when you are not 100% your self.

I have toyed with the idea of starting a new blog. Still keeping this one going too but one for my more education/parenting based posts- like Tot School for example. I like the idea of having it all in one place for the one category {as the organization freak in me would prefer it this way!} but I barely keep this one going most times so it might not be the best idea.

Plus this blog is self-hosted with a domain but I wouldn`t be able to do that with another blog {too expensive at the moment!}.

I know it is my blog and I can do what I like with it but still unsure.

You may have noticed my Some Days series has gone AWOL. I just couldn`t keep it up- I had good intentions to keep doing it but I have missed a couple of weeks now. I might bring it back sometime or it might just be a random post here and there- of course anyone can keep doing it if they wish.

Anyway I had meant to write in the last post that I appreciated all the comments on my “A million ways” post. Nice to know that I am not alone…

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