I'm living large in my 6 month clothes

Even though I'm only six weeks...

A serious thank you to everyone who gave us newborn outfits. We really enjoyed and appreciated the array of cute clothes. I'm sorry to have to report that we have officially buried that stage of Taiyo's life as a relic in our rear view mirror.

We have now entered the nebulous and confusing world of "3-6" months, which seems to cover whole lot of range depending what particular article of clothing you happen be staring at. As you can see from the picture above, Taiyo is having no problem fitting into some 6 month year old clothing, but we find some 3 month marked outfits to be far too large.

Its a brave new world, but Taiyo is too busy looking good to sweat the fever.

タイトル：僕は6ヶ月向けのお洋服で大きく生きてるよ

まだ生後６週間なのに・・・

僕に新生児のお洋服をくれた皆さんありがとうございました。僕もパパもママも、沢山のかわいいお洋服を十分に楽しましていただき、とても感謝しています。誠に残念ながら、全ての新生児服はお蔵行きとなってしまいました。

僕は既に不可解で不明瞭な３～６ヶ月服を着るようになっています。なぜ不可解かと言うと、服によって大きさが全然違うからです。写真でご覧のように、僕は6ヶ月のお洋服さえぴったりで着れちゃいます。でも、どういうわけかある“3ヶ月服”は、大きすぎたりするのです。

そんなわけですが、僕は“かっこよくなる”ために大忙しです。

Let the reading begin!!!

I'll be the first to admit that Taiyo doesn't have a clue what I'm saying when it comes to the books we have. But he is now beginning to take an interest in the pictures - especially those with bright multi-colored scenes. We are starting on some classics such as "Where the Wild Things are" as well as some new books that I've never seen before.

His eyes light up when a page with particular contrast is turned and he sometimes just watches me read the words for a minute or so before turning back to the next picture that unfolds. I"m as spell bound watching him as he is watching the book.

We'll be reading War in Peace from tomorrow.

P.S. Our camera broke but luckily, our video camcorder takes pictures, albeit at a lower quality. We'll treat ourselves to a late Christmas gift and take care of that little problem.

Merry Christmas

From Taiyo, his mamma and his pappa. I hope everyone takes a break to breathe it all in between now and the new year.

Holidays are coming

We are starting to enjoy the holidays. This will be the only year in which Taiyo has less interest than us in what is under the tree. We've been told that next year it will be the wrapping paper and the year after that, what's inside...

Focusing in and making friends

Yesterday a friend of Yoshiko's and her 6 month year old stopped by for a visit. I wasn't there but looking back over some of the pictures, it was really interesting to see a 6 week and a 6 month side by side.

Head size was similar, but the 6 month year old had a lot more leg and arms to go around.

You can see from the shot above that Taiyo is getting bigger around the cheeks but although its harder to tell, we think his arms and legs are also starting to lengthen.

Next month's pediatrician visit will reveal all.

Going back to work and missing out on the day's development is not very fun. Luckily when I get home, I've got plenty a few hours to enjoy before we go to bed, so I'm not missing out entirely.

Happy 1 month

On Friday, I turned one month old. I spent the day partying with mama.
I partied so hard, I had to wear several different outfits.

All my stuffed animals came and made me this great card.

In the afternoon, I took mama to visit my kibishii (strict) pediatrician. I now weigh 10 pounds and 6 ounces. I am also much taller and doing very well.

Papa came home later that night and we listened music and hung out.
I had fun day.

金曜日に、僕は1ヶ月の誕生日を迎えました。僕は一日中、ママとお祝いをして過ごしました。
少しはしゃぎ過ぎたせいか、何回もお着替えをしなくてはなりませんでした。

僕のいつも遊んでいるぬいぐるみ達がやってきて、この素敵なカードを作ってくれました。

午後には1ヶ月検診のため、ママを厳しい小児科の先生のところへ連れて行ってあげました。僕は今、4706gになりました。それに背もたくさん伸びて、とても健康だそうです。

夜にはパパが帰ってきて、一緒に音楽を聴いて過ごしました。
とても楽しい一日でした。

4 amazing weeks

And like that he was 4 weeks old and days away from his first month.

I can't exactly say we're feeling like pros at this point but we're getting better and Taiyo is learning more about us. He knows that Mom likes to relax with him while Dad enjoys bouncing him around. He knows when bath time rolls around and anticipates the routines.

At 4 weeks I really feel like a rhythm is setting in for us and we are running with our new roles together. It is amazing how much has happened in so short a period of time.

I get to feel time pass through him in a way I've long forgotten.

Tracking

今日から日本語でもブログを書きます。いろいろ間違えるかもしれないですが、日本の方も見てると聞きましたので、頑張ります。

At 27 days, Taiyo is really tracking movement with his eyes. For the first few weeks, he was often not aware of things around him. But now he will notice movement passing across his field of vision and often orient on that movement.

His favorite thing to track is Momma, which he does with a steady penetrating gaze. But he will also lock onto other things and follow them around the room for short periods before losing interest in favor of other intruiging sights in his surroundings.

I am reminded of how becoming a visual creature is a slow and steady process with many different levels along the way. I can remember when he first began to really stare at things in front of him. He does that for hours now...

生後２７日の太陽は動くものをよく目で追います。最初の数週間の間、太陽が周りの物にあまり気付かなかったです。でも、最近から何か目の前で動くとそれを見つめるんです。

一番好きな見つめるものは、もちろんママです。でも、興味を失う前に他の物も暫く見つめます。

人間にとって視覚が大切で、それが少しずつ発達するかを考えさせられます。初めて太陽が目の前の物を見つめるようになったことを覚えてますが、今ではもっと長くできるようになりました。

I'm Back and I'm Big

Taiyo got an infection and had to go into the hospital last week. Luckily we all got to be together and spent each day hanging out.

All of the drama was complete by 4:00 a.m. the first night and the entire week simply consisted of him getting regular doses of antibiotics and eating. He certainly did not have any appetite problems and has gained great weight over the week.

In some ways, the whole experience was positive because we learned a lot from the nice nurses who all fell in love with him and were falling over each other to offer their advice and assistance. We also learned some good lessons about the health care system and when and how we have to manage them.

All this is behind us now and we are back home and happy. Taiyo is regularly smiling to stimulus and interacting more each day. Although we will probaby be gun-shy for a few weeks, he is the model of health and a very happy baby.

Regular updates should resume here in the days to come.

Where's Taiyo?

You may be wondering why things have gone quiet here the past few days. We've had some medical issues we are working through that is keeping us all away from the computer.

Rest assured everyone is fine and we'll be back to normal and updating here again hopefully by this weekend.

Growing child - evolving relationships

One thing that is clear is how easy it is for parents to slowly gravitate their relationships towards others with children. This is something I've always heard about - how old friendships can suffer when one friend has a child and the priorities and interests are suddenly so different.

As I've considered this subject the last few days, I've realized that it is my responsibility to find opportunities not to try to preserve my old friendships as they were before but to really evolve them to relate to and include Taiyo.

It will be up to me to ensure that Taiyo benefits from all the wonderful things my friendships have meant to me over the years.

I want to thank all my friends who have stopped by to meet Taiyo and who have contacted us to hear all about him. I hope to do what I can to bring him into your world instead of expecting you to exclusively enter his.