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…
Posts Tagged: baby
12
Apr 08
Rikuto’s Diary April 12th 2008
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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.
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.
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? 
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.
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.
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!)
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:
Pretty cool, eh? You’ve got to love those built in socks!
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.
16
Oct 07
Rikuto Eats His Own Hands!
Next week, our son Rikuto will be three months old. I previously posted the video Is That My Hand? in which he realized that the hands flapping about his head were actually his own, and he could contol them! Now that he can control them, he does what every baby does - he tries to eat them. Thank goodness he doesn’t have teeth yet!
8
Oct 07
He’s Just a Little Sumo Baby!
With the all the negative publicity sumo is getting, and the lack of native Japanese newcomers to the sport, Mami and I felt this would be a great opportunity to let Rikuto keep this great Japanese tradition alive.
Sure, he may not be “100% pure“, but none of the top sumo wrestlers are. Apparently, at the time of writing, the top two wrestlers are Mongolian. Arudou Debito has some interesting facts on the nationalities of the top sumo wrestlers in his article, Latest Sumo Banzuke shows one third of top ranked are NJ.
5
Oct 07
Holding Rikuto Upright
It’s nearly two and a half months since Rikuto was born and both Mami and I are relieved to see his neck is getting stronger – strong enough to support his head… for a moment or two.
Until now, we’ve had to hold Riku in the cradle position because babies tend to have whopping big heads which their bodies can’t support. Riku is no different, although I think his sumo-sized chin doesn’t help matters much. Anyway, as you can see from the photo, he’s making progress.
What you can’t see in the picture is that if he’s feeling a bit sleepy or isn’t concentrating, he forgets about his own head and lets it crash onto my chest like a headbutt. Even worse, it falls the other way in a very unnatural and painful manner.
Our other trick is to put Rikuto on his belly on the floor and hope he tries to lift his head or push himself across the floor. Right now, he just lies there for a few moments before crying. It may sound cruel, but I’m sure he’ll learn to enjoy it!
30
Sep 07
Rikuto Gets Vocal
Rikuto is still a long way off speaking yet, but that doesn’t stop him trying to communicate. In this video, he gets quite vocal on a number of important issues. I don’t know what he’s trying to say, but it’s fun imagining. Maybe he’s giving his thoughts on Japan’s new prime minister, or perhaps he’s surprised at the fall of the U.S dollar! At the end of the video, I’m pretty sure he is impersonating Britney Spears, asking us to forgive him for his latest release!
If you can’t view the video, you can see it here on YouTube.com.
22
Sep 07
Rikuto Turns 2 Months Old
Rikuto is two months old today, and I was over at BabyCenter.com reading up on what to expect this month. Here’s the gist of it:
Week 1:
Rikuto should be able to recognize colors, rather than just seeing things in two tones or depending on brightness. They recommend we break out the stuffed animals, soft balls and plastic cookie cutters! He should also be able to differentiate familiar voices and will probably watch our mouths move as we speak.
Week 2:
Bring on the drool. It’s time to attach a bib and watch Rikuto put anything he can find into his mouth. Interestingly, baby drool contains disease-preventing proteins so it’s okay to pick up things he drools over, apparently. As for sleep, Rikuto should be sleeping for longer chunks of time, maybe 5-6 hours if we’re lucky! Finally, while he won’t be able to roll over completely yet, he should start to roll onto his sides. Rock ‘n Roll Rikuto!
Week 3:
By the third week of Month 3, he should be moving in a less jerky fashion, and when lying on his front, he’ll start to push off with his legs. I don’t think they mean he’ll be hopping around like a frog, but it should be fun to watch all the same. We’ll also need to set up a bedtime routine, which might include rocking him, singing a song, reading a bedtime story, cuddling a teddy bear or something, and saying goodnight. When he’s awake, he should be more open to other people and be able to make friends. He won’t be saying “Hi mate, the name’s Rikuto, fancy a beer?”, but he will hopefully open his arms and smile when he sees someone he likes.
Week 4:
Four weeks from now, we can expect Rikuto to be obsessed by his hands and fingers, and will be sucking on his digits most of the time. This will also be the time when he starts to lift his head. Right now, his neck isn’t strong enough to support his (huge) head, but he should respond to some neck-strengthening exercises in a few weeks time. He loves his dummy so I’ll probably dangle it just above his lips! Finally, he will be very receptive to language, so this is the best time for us to ramp up the reading and get him accustomed to his bilingual environment.
It’s been quite educational reading through the development pages over at BabyCenter.com, and this isn’t even a sponsored post! Now I can’t wait to see how much of this Rikuto accomplishes. Of course, if he’s a little behind schedule, I’ll be taking away his dummy again!
