kuri had her baby on sunday. so exciting!! yesterday tommy and i visited them in the hospital. she had a boy, he is super cute!! i took a few photos, but i only had my olympus and they didn't turn out all that great (not the best lighting, and i feel bad using a flash on a baby!) i know she hasn't blogged that much this summer, but i do hope she'll update after she's back from the clinic and settled in!

as for us, we are all doing well. i found sasha's school shorts, so that's a bit of a relief (because of the undokai coming up next month). the kids are really noisy, what's up with that? and they run in the house all the time. just another thing to blame on the undokai (i imagine they are practicing running every day), i really hate it when the kids run in the house!

well, tommy can walk now! today he showed of his 'frankenstein' walk for kuri and the pinglet. sooooo cute, though i say it myself. *sigh* my last baby is not a baby. (although, come to think of it, sasha has been acting like a baby lately. not so pleasant. but she's so darn cute!)

tommy has been able to walk for a while now, but he's been a bit hesitant to do it on his own. he loves to hold your hand while walking. but now he is gaining confidence and seems to be ready to start running after his brother and sister. i can hardly wait (going to the bus stop will be easier, for one thing.)

i do miss my cuddly baby from last winter, though, who could only sleep if he was sleeping on my chest. *sigh* well, at least i have fond memories. he's still really affectionate, often leaning against one of us, or giving delicious baby hugs. everyone loves him, he is a lucky baby!

tommy said, and signed, his first word today! 'milk'. i am so proud! :D

i was going to write a big long post, but i got this video tonight so i'm putting that up instead. enjoy!

tommy is soooo cute! today he started closing his eyes, scrunching up his face. he especially does this just before i put a spoon of food in his mouth. at first i was surprised, so i didn't put food in his mouth. he opened his eyes and wondered where his food was! so, i started putting the spoon in his mouth and he scrunched up his face. i need to get a picture of it.

tommy can now do 'touchdown', but i had trouble getting a video of it, because he wants the camera!!

pregnancy really made me feel cold, because this year it seems really really hot! i have had the air conditioner on since eight this morning! crazy! both hiro and sasha have diaper rashes. hiro because he didn't change his diaper--at all--the other day, until it was bath time in the evening. yes, he has totally regressed in potty training. *sob* sasha because she had an icky poo and didn't tell me (and it wasn't as smelly as usual, weird) so that messed up her tender bum. poor kids. my solution: hiro goes pant-less unless we go out, and sasha gets her diaper changed every hour. *that* means cloth for sasha. finally, my 'cloth in the summer' plan can be executed! and heck, if sasha's in cloth, then tommy might as well be, too. just need to get some more covers.

tommy has been sleeping in his crib at night. i can't really remember when this started, maybe when he was about five months old. he just can't handle sleeping with others. even when he was sleeping on me, if i took him into the tatami room where hiro and sasha were sleeping, he'd fuss and wouldn't sleep. i think for naps i would put him in the crib (where he would be less likely to be disturbed by sasha and hiro shouting and playing) and tried it one night and he just settled down and slept. since he was still waking at night to nurse, i slept upstairs in the bed, alone, and i admit, i'm really missing co-sleeping (yoshi sleeps with hiro and sasha, so they aren't alone.)

last night it started to rain really hard. all the windows were open, so i closed them. tommy is such a light sleeper that i woke him up and he started to cry. he didn't settle down, so i took him to the bed and nursed him. he was sleepy enough to go back to sleep so we slept together in the big bed. until he woke up at five and didn't want to co-sleep any more...

once upon a time, there was a happy baby named tommy. he was seven months old, and just learning to get around. he was also a very curious baby, and had to try anything.

one day, he found his car seat! it was soooooo interesting. when he pushed on it, it stood up. he pushed, it stood up. he pushed harder, it stood up taller. he was having so much fun that he pushed it hard--and it turned over on him!! now he was in a very small and dark place. not so interesting...or fun. so, he started to fuss. nothing happened. he tried to move. he couldn't get out! he fussed louder, until his mommy noticed him. but did she get him out? no!! she got a camera and took his picture!!



mommy was laughing so much she couldn't even get a proper picture.



but mommy only took two photos before letting him out.



tommy was very happy to be out from under the car seat, and was ready for more action!!

the end.

here we go, isn't he cute??

today the kids and i went to the pediatrician for tommy's seven month check. everything's normal, he's a healthy baby boy! 8.005 kilos (i think his growth is starting to slow a bit) and 66.7 cm tall. bigger than sasha and hiro were at that age, though. i've had some problems cleaning behind one of his ears (how does that happen?) and it's a bit sore for him, so the doctor gave us some ointment for it.

he also got his second DPT shot. poor baby. on wednesday he seemed quite willing to be held by others, but today was very clingy and cried whenever i walked away! stranger anxiety in one day? or maybe he remembered the last time we were there and he got a shot. if it's stranger anxiety, *sigh*, because it is so nice to be able to hand off the baby to someone to do something else.

i usually don't complain (much) about japan, mainly because this is not one of those kind of blogs. but i just had a oh my gawd moment that i just had to share.

i was out hanging the laundry (thank you stomach bug) when i heard my neighbor bid someone good-bye. i heard a kei-truck start up and drive off, turn the corner and head down my street. the driver saw me, waved hello and pointed to the baby he was wearing on his back.

'it's lili,' he told me. oh, lili. (yes, i know my neighbor's seven month old baby, but i really didn't want to talk to an old man wearing a baby while driving.)

he jumped out of the car to show me for sure that he had lili and that she was the baby from around the corner. then he told me they were off to climb a mountain.

'ittarashai!' i bid them a safe journey.

i definitely live in japan....

today was tommy's four month check provided by the city. one of those 'cattle call' checks where every four month old baby in the city goes to to be measured and weighed. this morning, however, little tommy threw up twice, big icky pukes. he had a slight temperature, and yoshi wrote down (on the paper provided by the city) that info, and added that he (yoshi) had the flu. well, they didn't let tommy get measured. we had to leave. i was a bit disappointed because i wanted to find out how much he weighed. ah well.

but i'm more disappointed in myself. i am lonely, i have no friends in town. i have a lot of trouble being friendly with japanese women, i have met very few with whom i get on with. i brought a book with me, and while waiting for tommy's name to be called (and before we were 'rejected'), a lady came up and wanted to look at tommy (he was in his stroller which i had covered with a towel. it was rainy today, and if he had the flu, i didn't really want to spread it to other babies.) i let her peek, and then she started talking to me: what country are you from? oh, my husband is being transfered to the US. where are you from in the US? do you know san diego?

forgive me, but i really didn't want to talk to her. this person could have been my friend, or i could have had a potential student who wanted a couple of lessons before moving to the states (she spoke only japanese to me), but i just didn't encourage the conversation. what is wrong with me?

ok, even though that last question is rhetorical, i will give a couple of answers: one, i'm a bit depressed. just some baby blues, not full-on PPD, but it makes me tired and not want to talk to strangers. and two, i am really tired, and i think it has to do with yoshi having the flu and me having to deal with everyone ALL. THE. TIME. amazingly, yoshi does not have the 'man flu' but even so, i cannot rely on him so much. he was feeling well enough today to watch hiro and sasha so i could take tommy to the check, but he DOES have the flu so he doesn't have that much energy to take the kids for several hours. *sigh* i really really hope I don't catch the flu, and i hope tommy feels better tomorrow.

my little tommy is growing up so fast, so today's list is about what i love about babies! my babies, that is.

5) resemblance. it's fun to try to see who the little nipper looks like. when hiro was born, i really thought he looked like my brother when he was an infant. when sasha was born, she looked just like hiro did. and when tommy was born...well, i thought he looked a bit like my FIL, but then he quickly grew and started looking like medea's son! ha! but all three have my nose. aawww.

4) soft soft skin. i didn't know how soft a baby was--all over. i was actually shocked to feel hiro's infant hand and how soft it was. it still is.

3) smile. maybe it's gas, maybe not, but a baby's smile is a wonderful thing. add milk and it can make me happy for hours.

2) nursing. i love nursing my babies. it is a wonderful quiet time just for the two of us, no matter what is going on around us. i have to be honest, though, and admit that i was really ready to be done when hiro weaned, but i was so sad and disappointed when sasha weaned. *sigh*

1) love. my baby loves me, he really does. tommy is always snuggling into me, wanting to be held while sleeping. he gets his nourishment from me, and i know he feels happy and safe when i am around. *sigh* oh, i love my babies!

being the baby certainly has its downsides. bigger siblings hitting you, waking you up from naps, 'tickling' that suspiciously looks (and feels) like scratching...you get the idea. poor tommy.

this morning i was changing his diaper, while hiro sat nearby watching. as i pulled the diaper down, a stream of pee arched out--right onto hiro's leg! i quickly replaced the diaper, but hiro was good and doused. and i laughed so hard! good one, tommy!


*****************

tomorrow is a 'free' day for blog 365. that is, because it's a leap year, and tomorrow is the extra day, i don't have to blog. but i just might do it anyway.

yesterday was pretty tough. i had a craving for hard rock cafe, but debated with myself as whether i should go (too far, too expensive, too fattening). however, by mid-morning i was so exhausted by hiro and sasha that i just didn't want to deal with them out in public.

today rained like hell, and we didn't go anywhere. ah well, that's ok. they were better, however, though sasha took an early nap and didn't sleep in the afternoon. i try to give them 'quiet time', usually around 2, so that maybe they will take a nap, and maybe they'll be ready for pre-school or daycare in the future. when they sleep, that's fantastic for me! sasha just wouldn't sleep, but she did go to sleep almost immediately after going to bed this evening.

tommy is being a bit of a pain the the butt, too, now that he knows how to turn over. changing his diaper and putting clothes on him has become a bit of a challenge. he lurves to turn over! thing is, once he's over, he doesn't really like being on his tummy. so, he cries. if i don't get to him right away, then he screams! but, if i turn him over onto his back, he just turns over again!

and, the little monkey puked today. as in, champion puking. i didn't realize how much until i heard it splashing on the floor! a big ole puke, let me tell you. he managed to get it all over my shirt, my skirt, the chair (and cushion), the wall and the floor. luckily, he didn't get it on himself. changing my clothes and wiping the floor wasn't much fun. then i just fed him again and he fell asleep. lucky tommy. *sigh*

well, yoshi will be home late tomorrow, but i think i'll be ok. right now malibu coke is warming me up! lol

here is tommy trying to turn over after a diaper change. yes, that's his diaper on the floor. it missed the trash can.



aaaaaand, here's sasha and the amazing, 'sasha, can you say ....?' trick. just last night, though, she had her first sentence. 'mommy, are you ok?' ah, my baby girl!

so, last night tommy used his thumb to full effect. he has been discovering his hands lately, and actually sucking on his thumb once in a while, but last night he found that it fit perfectly in his mouth and it put him to sleep. i put him on the futon and even though his thumb popped out, he went right to sleep and didn't need to sleep on me. *sob*

but does that mean i got restful sleep? oh no, not in a house with three babies (well, ok, hiro is practically a preschooler, but he acts like a baby most of the time!) good old tommy has hit another growth spurt and was nursing every three hours yesterday. so that means last night, too. and poor sasha has this cough that bothers her at night. she doesn't cough so much during the day anymore but at night, it can get bad. (note to self: LOOK for that humidifier, lazy!) so...tommy woke at midnight to nurse. sasha woke at one to cough. i waited for her to go to sleep but the poor girl kept coughing. so, i picked up my pillow and went to the tatami room. i snuggled in with hiro and patted sasha's back. finally i fell asleep but tommy woke at three for another nosh. it never ends....

i know you wanna baby video

this mothering gig is tough. i need a raise!