Long Countdown » Family

Chopsticks and Smiles

Nick Ramsay — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:10:42 +0000

Here’s a rare picture of Rikuto smiling for the camera, and he has every right to be happy – he’s only 18 months old, but can eat his dinner with chopsticks!

He also said his first English word yesterday… I was hoping for “daddy” or at least “google” (in the hope of striking it rich as the “Google baby”), but no. Rikuto’s first English word was “crash!” – the result of me pushing him around on his Thomas the Tank Engine car and screaming “Crash!” every time we hit something.

Incidentally, his first Japanese word was wan wan (doggy-woggy?) and he’s added korrya! (what the heck!) to his vocabulary, too. I suspect he got that one from his mum!

Poem: A Cute Little Fellow

Nick Ramsay — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:37:38 +0000

I while ago my mum wrote a poem about her relationship with the grandson she has only seen via a webcam. In her latest poem, she talks about his antics with phones and fire extinguishers. Very funny stuff…

I love my baby grandson, Ricky.
He’s such a cute little fellow to me.
He lives so far away in Japan,
A strange country across the sea.

Read the rest here

Rikuto Walking (properly) for the First Time

Nick Ramsay — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:17:06 +0000

I take Rikuto to the shopping center a lot. It’s close to home, it’s spacious and there are places for Rikuto to play, eat and have a change of underwear. Last week, though, I was pleasantly surprised when he took it upon himself to practice his walking skills…

If you can’t see the video, watch it here on YouTube.

Two Front Teeth

Nick Ramsay — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:15:49 +0000

I just heard that my poor dad tripped on the pavement while running for the bus and knocked his two front teeth out. I do hope he gets well soon. In the meantime, here’s a little ditty to cheer him up:

If you can’t view the video, watch it here on YouTube.

Update: My dad’s got a new set of pearly whites, and my mum wrote an entertaining poem about the whole expeirence here: His Pocket Hurts

I’m an Uncle!

Nick Ramsay — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:26:21 +0000

I became an uncle and Mami became an aunt this week when her sister gave birth to a little girl called Rinko. Here are some pictures…

Shhh… Rikuto’s Asleep

Nick Ramsay — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:49:37 +0000

Don’t wake the baby!

Chocolate Through the Post

Nick Ramsay — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:44:07 +0000

In response to my post about Japanese convenience stores only selling four different chocolate bars (Snickers, Aero, KitKat and Time Out), my mum surprised me by sending one of the best gifts I could have wished for from England…

I particularly like the chocolate fingers! Thanks mum!

P.S. I think I was supposed to share them with Rikuto, but come on, he’s just a baby! For now, I’ll put the chocolate away somewhere safe… munch, munch, munch…

Rikuto at 15 Months [Video]

Nick Ramsay — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:40:20 +0000

Here’s a five-minute video of Rikuto at 15 months of age. He’s slowly taking his first steps, but he’s having more fun playing on the grass and slides at Oasis Park, which I’ll talk about more in a future post. If you can’t watch the video, you can find it here on YouTube.

P.S. I’m a bit disappointed with the quality of this video, but I don’t really know what to do about it other than blame YouTube. If you have any tips, I’m all ears.

Children, On Sale!

Nick Ramsay — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:13:01 +0000

I recently asked my parents to dig out my birth certificate because I need it to get Rikuto his own British birth certificate. When my mum emailed me to say she found it, I started to reply…”Thanks mum! There aren’t any surprises, are there? I’m not adopted from a small African nation, am I?”

I thought it was funny when I wrote it, but the smile was wiped off my face when I searched for a particular country to put into my joke. Within seconds of my search on Google, I found this:

I can understand “Urgent Need!”, but “Reduced Fee!”? Sounds like they’re selling a product, not a person. So how much do these reduced “items” go for? About $22,000 apparently.

I’m out of my depth on discussions of adoption, and I can’t comment on the reasons for putting a price tag on a child’s head. What I object to is the wording in these “advertisements”. I know there are families out there who don’t have a lot of money yet are keen to adopt, and more power to them, but the language used here just doesn’t feel right at all.

Rikuto Playing the Keyboard #2

Nick Ramsay — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:16:16 +0000

Here’s a quick video of Rikuto at the shopping center playing on the keyboard. If you missed the video of him playing when he was just 4 months old, watch it here. We think he plays like an angel. His music is poetry to our ears! If you can’t see the video, try watching it here on YouTube.

IMPORTANT!

I must tell you that Ricky’s granny wrote a lovely poem about her relationship with Rikuto through a webcam.

Please read her poem and if you like it, click the “I Like It!” button!