Woops, I didn't realise that over a month had gone by since I posted. That can only mean one of two things - we've been really busy and I don't have the time to post, or we haveen't done anything worth mentioning lately.....or I've been too lazy to write - you can decide which one.
Over the last month, Joshua has steadly improved his walking and now walks everywhere! He doesn't fall too often and just needs a bit of help going up and down stairs. About 2 weeks ago we gave him his first haircut! It was actually very easy to do, as we gave him some crackers to keep him occupied while Aki chopped away, then I did the finishing touches wit the clippers. He looks very different without the long, straggly hair - in a good way :) He gave us a little scare last week. He caught a virus that gave him diarrhoea, which led to dehydration. He ended up in hospital with an IV overnight and was totally fine the next day! Unfortunately Aki caught the virus the next day and was sick all week, but now everyone is healthy and happy!
During Golden Week we mostly stayed around home. We did manage to catch up with Anthony, Fumiko and Liam a couple of times. We also enjoyed our first BBQ of the year with Aki's family. Thepark near our house had a rugby open day, so we went and gave Joshua a ball to see if he has All Black potential. It's a bit early to say yet, but here's hoping he loves the oval ball.
Today we went to Nogeyama Zoo. I'm surprised I hadn't been there since living in Japan, as it's really central and free. I guess I thought a free zoo is probably pretty average....turns out I was wrong as it's as good as any other zoo and you can touch some animls at the petting zoo. This was definitely the highlight as we had mice running around on our shoulders, patted guinea pigs and chicks, and got a snake put round our neck! I think Joshua really liked the snake.
We hada weekend away in Yamanashi last weekend. Leaving on Saturday morning, our first stop was at Gotemba for the outlet mall. While Aki and Kei went shopping, the rest of us went to the kids playground where Joshua, Ryo & Nagi had fun on the cars and trains. We then continued to Lake Yamanako and had a quick game of tennis before it got dark. After a delicious feed we (I) had a few drinks and played table tennis where I got my ass whipped by two boys, aged about 13 and 15!! I wanted payback, but they weren't keen for a basketball challenge the next day! After a bit of karaoke it was off to bed. The next day we left after breakfast and started heading home. Somehow I managed to convince everyone we should stop to see some wildlife and it was off to Fuji Safari! This was a really cool detour as we drove past bears, lions, tigers and many other animals. The highlight for me was watching a tiger throw up a few metres from the car, while Josh slept the whole time and missed them all. However, there was a walking zoo-like area at the end, so Josh woke up and checked out some monkeys, hippos, kangaroos and other wild beasts. No one got mauled so a very successful trip and a good place to go back to in few years when Josh is bigger and can stay awake.
At home I finished planting all our veges today, so now it's up to the sun and rain to feed us. The last week also saw the cherry blossoms blooming, but it's been raining a bit so it was difficult to see them and enjoy a picnic. That didn't stop me and Josh going for an early morning walk today to check out the sakura before they finished.
Joshua is still taking his time to practice walking. He can take about five or six steps before deciding to sit down, but I'm sure he can walk more if he wants to! He's also got a great bedtime routine going now, as we get him into bed around 7:30-8:00, where he enjoys reading a book before going to sleep with no crying. He's not waking up too often in the night and he gets back to sleep really easy, usually just wanting a hand to touch or a sip of water.
Just like our ape-like ancestors did all those years ago, Joshua has now found he can be mobile on his own two feet. While he is not yet walking more than a few steps by himself, he is very happy to walk while holding someone's hand (including a walk to our nearest playground in which he walked/jumped/slipped down about 70 stairs!) or while pushing his buggy (very fun to watch as he gets some speed up!). He also has a great love for crawlng up stairs recently, so it's been very busy outside as we enjoy the warmer weather.
It's also been a big change for Joshua the last few days as Aki stopped breastfeeding him. To achieve this, I've been sleeping with him for the last couple of nights, because he's so used to having Aki there for midnight snacks. The first night he slept really well and went back to slep easily when he woke up. Unfortunately I wasn't so good as I lay awake half the night listening the the big storm that shook the house and worrying about falling asleep and not hearing him wake up or something.....the second night I had no problems getting to sleep, but Joshua had a tough night, waking up twice with diarrhoea (probably from the change in diet). In the end we both slept okay, so hopefully tonight will get easier. He's also sleeping for longer stretches, so he should be able to go all night once he adjusts to not waking for milk.
Little Mozart Joshua and Keizo (6 months)
In the garden, we prepared this years vege plot and it looks a lot better than last years quick job. Looking forward to a bumper crop of stawberries, brocolli, spring onions, cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes! Hajime also came round to make a bbq area......sounds nice right, but acually it's just a small patio with just enough space for the bbq to sit on, the reason being that the grass had died in that patch from a constant lack of sun. I'll post a picture once the garden looks greener!
We'll be going to Yamanashi the weekend after next for a little spring break, and hopefully we'll have plans for a summer vacation soon......and next week will be our second anniversary! Unbelievable how fast time flies with a little one to take care of!!!
After a cold few weeks and a couple of small snowfalls, it looks like the weather is getting warmer, which means Joshua can finally play outside again! He got to play in the snow one morning last week before I left for work. It wasn't too cold and he had fun kicking over the snowman I made for him. Today he enjoyed playing outside in the warm weather. Hajime helped me do some landscaping a couple of weeks back, so Josh loves playing in the pebbles. He also got very dirty crawling up and sliding down the mountain of dirt that will be this year's vege garden.
Joshua has shown us that he can stand up by himself now, but he's only done it about 5 times and falls down after a few seconds (so no photos yet). I'm guessing he'll be walking sometime in March - perfect timing for the spring walks to the park.
Not much else happening, but here's plenty of cool pics of Joshua from the last month.....
Joshua's first time to see the snow; I was the Oni (Demon) for Setsubun. Joshua and Aki hrew beans at me to cast out the bad luck and bring in the good luck for this year.
Joshua is starting to feed himself (but it's not as easy as this pic might suggest!); Playing in our new pebble garden.....it used to be dirt and weeds.
Joshua enjoyed this cheap train toy we bought 2nd hand.....but it broke down after a day of play so we had to take it back :(
Joshua touches snow (very cautiously!) for the first time; After a while he got comfortable with the white stuff.
Trying out his Elephant clothes for playing outside; Trying to become a dirty elephant!
Happy 2010 to you all! It was a very cold and quiet New Year holiday over here, as we mostly stayed indoors.
Joshua turned the big "1" on the 11th! We celebrated with all his relatives over here and he got very spoiled for presents. He really enjoys his new toys and has figured out how to push the buttons to make lots of noise! Joshua still doesn't seem interested in standing up or walking, but he has no problems climbing up onto anything (and sometimes falling down!). He is also coming up with new sounds all the time, so I think he'll be talking more in the not so distant future. Right now Joshua has his first bout with illness,as he caught the chicken pox. He's doing fine, not scratching, so hopefully it clears up for him in a few days, then we don't have to worry about him catching it again.
Other than that we're just hibernating from the cold (nice sunny days, but still really cold....no snow yet), and I'm playing my XBox 360 that I bought in the holidays (NBA 2K10, Assassins Creed II & GTAIV). Hurry up spring!!
During Golden Week we mostly stayed around home. We did manage to catch up with Anthony, Fumiko and Liam a couple of times. We also enjoyed our first BBQ of the year with Aki's family. Thepark near our house had a rugby open day, so we went and gave Joshua a ball to see if he has All Black potential. It's a bit early to say yet, but here's hoping he loves the oval ball.
