Family

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12
Apr 08

Rikuto’s Diary April 12th 2008

My first teeth!Hello everybody. Daddy says I can write on his blog. He thinks that at my age (8 and a half months) I should learn to touch type. I think he’s wrong. My fingers are too short and chubby. I can do it with my toes, though.

My first teeth

I have two teeth now. One is a bit yellow. Mummy thinks I have an “enamel defect”. She keeps brushing it. She’s always sticking things in my mouth and nose. I really don’t like “nasal irrigation”.

My little cousin

I went to see cherry blossoms with grandma. She told me my aunty is going to give me a little cousin for Christmas. I wonder what that is. I hope it rattles.

My first baseball cap

Mummy got me a baseball cap. I eat it when she’s not looking. It’s yummy. Daddy has a baseball cap, too. We look funny together.

What did you say?

I don’t understand Daddy. He says things like “Did you do a poopy poopy in your poopy poopy pants?”. I think he should study English like Mummy.

Water in my eyes

I haven’t cried for twenty minutes. I have some catching up to do. Bye bye.

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4
Apr 08

Rikuto at One Day Old

I previously posted a video of Rikuto at 3 weeks old, believing it was the earliest footage of our son that we had. However, the other day I was playing with my phone when I discovered, buried deep within its memory banks, a video I had taken just 24 hours after he was born! I guess I’m becoming really forgetful in my thirties. :???:

Here is never before seen footage of our son at one day old.

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

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8
Mar 08

Rikuto in March 2008

Ricky is developing more of a personality by the day, and it’s great watching him develop. He’s started practicing with a toothbrush even though he doesn’t have any teeth yet, he’s eating a variety of mushy foods, and can finally roll on to his front. Here are a few recent clips:

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

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19
Feb 08

Which One is Not Rikuto?

Here’s a quick quiz for you. Below you can see five pictures of our son, Rikuto. However, one of them is an imposter! All you have to do is decide which is the odd one out. If you need to, you can enlarge the pictures for a better look.

Click to enlarge: A, B, C, D, E

Which is the odd one out?

Easy? Great! Now try this one. I’ll give you a hint. The odd one out is the one who confessed. ;)

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7
Feb 08

Rikuto Eats His Toys

Our 6-month-old son, Rikuto, just won’t stop putting things in his mouth. He has to taste everything! If he doesn’t have his dummy, then he’s chewing on his hands or bib. In this video, watch him much away on his toys!

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

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5
Feb 08

Mami’s Pink Car – The Lapin

A short while ago, a reader asked to see a picture of my wife’s pink car that I’ve mentioned in a couple of posts. Although I say it’s Mami’s car, I tend to drive it more than she does because the baby goes in the baby chair on the back seat, and Mami sits with him while I drive.

Mami's pink Lapin

So, not only do I go ballroom dancing with another man every Friday night, I also drive a pink car! I never asked for this life of gaiety, one minute I was dancing with my wife and driving a silver Suzuki Wagon R, and look at me now!

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24
Jan 08

Rikuto Turns 6 Months Old

My first post this year about our son, Rikuto, marks six months since he was born. He has grown a lot in that time and is now sitting up, eating crackers and some slimy stuff that looks like mango curry. He also seems to be favoring some toys over others and growing bored of his previous favorites. He loves to be held and is incredibly restless until someone picks him up. He still doesn’t like lying on his front, but is at last sleeping through the night.

Here’s a compilation of some “6-month” footage, which you can see on YouTube if you can’t view it here.

The next six months will be particularly interesting as he learns to crawl, stand, and no doubt wear his mum and dad out. :)

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29
Dec 07

Life Changing Moments from 2007

2007 was an eventful year, starting with fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki predicting that it would be the best year for me in over a decade. I’m not really into astrology, but she wasn’t far off with that prediction.

My Top 5 Life Changing Moments from 2007

5. Taking better care of my health

On July 1st, I put out my last cigarette. With a baby on the way, I wanted to be a responsible father so gave up a habit I had had for about ten years. Being smoke-free for half a year, I can’t say that I feel much healthier, but I do know my stress levels have increased and I have no fingernails left. Smoking was the best bad habit I ever had and I miss it dearly, but at least I made a life-changing decision, instead of a life-ending one.

4. Becoming the sole breadwinner

Two months before Rikuto was born, Mami gave up her job at the hospital. She had more time to prepare for the baby and became noticably happier without the demands of work upon her. However, that left me solely responsible for supporting the family, and I wasn’t going to let them down!

3. A change in perception

2007 was the year I wisened up. It started with some research into the terrorist attacks on New York, and resulted in me spending sleepless nights reading up everything I could find on the topic. I discovered there is very little substance in the “official” story the public were fed by the media, and a mountain of information supporting a contradicting theory. The lack of interest in what would be the biggest scandal in a hundred years saddened me, and I blame the money-hungry media for manipulating the public and removing our ability to think for ourselves. Not anymore. I’m sceptical of everything now.

2. Moving house

We started 2007 in our new house, and while not technically new, it was in excellent condition and perfect for us to start a family in. Buying a house was a life-changing moment for me because it forced me to agree to a lifetime in Japan. I don’t mean that in a bad way, and of course we could always sell it, but I am now focused on raising a family here in Kakamigahara.

1. The birth of our son, Rikuto.

Since late 2006, I had been blogging about Mami’s pregnancy and posting photos of ultrasound scans. When Rikuto came into the world on July 22nd, he didn’t just change my life, he became my life! From that day forth, everything I do has been with Ricky in mind, and that’s why I my son is the winner of the Top Life Changing Moment award!

I’ll wrap up the year with a photo slideshow I’ve put together called 2007 – The Year of The Baby. Let me wish all my readers a Happy New Year, and I hope you’ll join me again in 2008 – the year I become self employed!

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

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25
Dec 07

Rikuto’s First Christmas

It’s late afternoon on Christmas Day 2007, and Ricky is having a nap as I write this. Our son has just turned five months old and woke up this morning to his first Christmas. Unlike the rest of Japan, we are fortunate not to have work or school today so are making the most of it.

Santa Claus got in through the front door

Santa took a photo of himself!Japanese houses don’t have chimneys, but last night Santa must have come in through the front door because my wife spotted him delivering presents and placing them under the Christmas tree.

I didn’t believe her, but not only did we have more presents, he had cheekily taken a photo of himself with my own camera!

Rikuto sits up by himself for the first time

The video below, or here on Youtube, shows Rikuto trying to sit up by himself. This is the first time he has had any real success at sitting up, and although he still needs some practice, it’s clear he’ll be doing it with ease very soon. Also in the video, you can see Ricky and me play with one of his Christmas presents from Santa.

Merry Christmas everybody!

I’m going to stop blogging for the rest of the day and go and do what us Brits do best – eat chocolate and drink beer. Tonight we’re going to log back on and make a Christmas toast over the webcam with my family in England, open some more presents and maybe watch a Christmas video if Rikuto will let us. Okay then, Merry Christmas everybody! Enjoy your day!

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24
Dec 07

Rikuto Sees His Great Grandmother and First Snow

In my last post, Making Mochi in the Mountains, I told you it was my first time to to make Japanese mochi. I wasn’t the only person doing something for the first time.

Rikuto sees snow for the first time

Our trip to the mochi ceremony took us way up into the mountains on a winding road surrounded by snow. We were all surprised snow had fallen since it was a really mild winter’s day, but there was snow everywhere. There was less snow when we reached our destination on the other side of the mountains, but we still found some of the white stuff for this momentous photograph.

Rikuto sees his first snow

Rikuto sees his great grandmother for the first time

The same evening, my family in England gathered around my mum’s computer so Rikuto could see his great grandmother, who was visiting from Italy. There aren’t many great grandmothers who have used a webcam, and this one was no exception. She was amazed to be speaking face to face with her grandson and great grandson despite the geographical distance between us. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time Rikuto sees his great grandmother, and next time we’ll have to go to Italy and visit in person. In the meantime, here’s a picture of Ricky’s great granny and the gentlemen in the photo is his great uncle, who I haven’t seen for over a decade myself!

Great uncle and great grandmother
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11
Dec 07

Rikuto Playing the Keyboard #1

Earlier this year I bought myself a little electronic keyboard so I could make up some children’s songs for my ESL classes. Like most things I spend my money on, it rarely got used… until now.

Watch Rikuto play the piano for the first time ever at four and a half months old. I’d say he’s pretty good for his age!

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

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9
Dec 07

Rikuto Attacks the Camera

In this video, Rikuto shows his curiosity for everything and anything by attacking the camera. If I had let him have it, I’m sure he would have tried to eat it, too!

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

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4
Dec 07

Rikuto Wearing New Hat and Mittens

Here’s a lovely picture of Rikuto sat on the sofa, sporting a cute hat, mittens, and “I Luv My Mum” socks, courtesy of his Aunty Emma and Uncle Mark. The colorful clothes he’s wearing are part of Mami’s Yahoo Auctions haul. Mami’s online activities also won him a little Big-o-Ball to go with the larger version he got when we went shopping. Doesn’t he look like a couch potato? ;-)

Rikuto dressed in presents
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27
Nov 07

Baby Rikuto at 4 Months Old

It’s hard to believe how quickly time has passed, and how big Rikuto has grown, but he’s already four months old and growing out of clothes with each passing week! Just compare the following video to when he was just three weeks old to see the difference.

His neck is strong enough to support his head, and he has no problems lying on his front, on his dad’s chest. He still loves his dummy – this is his second and it’s wearing out fast – but Mami has started spooning him milk as he takes that first step towards eating.

Here’s a close-up video of little Ricky. I filmed as much as I could before he fell off my chest (just kidding!). If you can’t see the video, you can watch it here on Youtube.

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25
Nov 07

First Video of Rikuto – 3 Weeks Old

Alhough I’m writing this four months after Rikuto was born, you’re about to watch a video of when he was just three weeks old. I didn’t post this earlier because Mami and I were talking all through it and I’ve only just learned how to remove that audio and play music and narration over the top.

So this is Rikuto when he was just a wee little nipper. If you can’t see the video, you can watch it here on YouTube.

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21
Nov 07

Rikuto Wearing Clothes from Granny

On September 9th, I posted a photo of Rikuto’s new clothes, which he got from his granny and grandad in England. If you go back and take a look at that picture, you’ll see how small he was then. If he had worn the clothes, they would have drowned him! Now, just two and half months later, they fit him perfectly, and even though t-shirt and shorts aren’t really suitable for the cold weather we’re having, he spends most of his time sleeping under the kotatsu anyway (not literally, of course!)

Rikuto wearing clothes from granny
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17
Nov 07

Rikuto Wins Baby Clothes in Yahoo Auction

Mami recently plucked up the courage to bid in an auction over at Yahoo! Japan. The world’s largest auction site is eBay, but it doesn’t even exist in Japan, probably due to the overwhelming success of Yahoo! Auctions.

To stop herself getting carried away, Mami claims to never bid over 100 yen. That’s just 90 cents to those of you who think in US dollars. Anyway, even with such a low spending limit, she won her first auction and the baby’s new clothes arrived today.

Here is Rikuto’s winter wear, good as new, for just 80 yen:

Rikuto wearing his auction winnings

Pretty cool, eh? You’ve got to love those built in socks!

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9
Nov 07

My Wife Has Gaming Skills

Nintendo DS TetrisShe denies it now, but when the Nintendo DS was released, Mami begged me to get her one. Like most husbands, I thought it would be a great chance to get my wife into gaming, so I rushed out and got her a little, white DS Lite with Tetris and Super Mario Bros.

Hooked on the Nintendo DS

Mami was over the moon and played it day and night. Some nights, she wouldn’t come to bed until 5am. She had blisters on her fingers, sore eyes, and the Tetris music still haunts us to this day. However, with barely a week passed, she lost all interest in her new little friend.

Why did Mami’s gaming obsession come to a halt?

The DS has been gathering dust ever since Mami last put it down over a year ago. But why the sudden loss of interest? It turns out that my wife has an incredible talent for Nintendo games. Pass her a Playstation controller and she’s lost, but give her a DS and she’s in her element. Needless to say, she finished both Tetris and Mario and satisfied her craving for games.

Tetris has an ending?

Before I met Mami, I had no idea that Tetris was actually finishable. Time and time again, she completed the game with 200 lines and sat through the end-of-game credits that scroll down the screen. Never had I met someone who could beat Tetris. I think my record was 97 lines or something like that.

How about you? Does your better half like video games? What is your Tetris record?

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9
Nov 07

Rikuto Playing with his Pooh

Our three and a half month-old son, Rikuto, went for his BCG jab today and cried louder than he ever has. When he got home though, he found one of his favorite toys, the Pooh Carousel, recharged with new batteries. He went crazy trying to grasp the dangling Pooh, and had more luck off-camera, but you can still see how much Rikuto loves his flying Pooh.

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

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5
Nov 07

Rikuto on His Belly

Maybe it’s just because I’m his dad, but Rikuto is getting more adorable each day. Take a look at these photos of him on his front. He used to cry after just a few seconds on his belly, but now he seems to enjoy it.

Rikuto on his front

After looking at the last picture I posted of Rikuto, my Net Buddy was saying how quickly Rikuto is growing. Very true. Time is flying and it it won’t be long before he’s doing what one-year-old Prince Hisahito is now capable of.

I haven’t managed to snap a picture of Rikuto smiling yet, but I’ll keep trying. He’s got the best smile.

Rikuto closeup while on his front

On a rather bizarre note, I came across this article by a guy in Japan called Nick, from England, who married a Japanese girl and had a baby boy in 2007. At first I thought it was something I had written myself, but no, it wasn’t me!

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