faces

Disco Baby

Sometimes, he just feels like dancing.

Looking at his fist

I think this is a sign he's moving into a new phase.

The Mobile

He digs the mobile. It's remote control and includes a monitor, so when mommy or daddy hear him crying, we can click a button and fire it up.

Here's a video of him reaching for the stars:

Happy Baby

Sorry, couldn't think of a snappier title.

Smilng guy at night

It was really dark, but just watch how happy he is!

Report Time

It's report time at school, so I need to work at home sometimes. Luckily I've found a compromise when mommy needs some sleep - Baby Bjorn Active to the rescue!

Waking Up

I think babies grunt as much as they cry. We sometimes refer to him as The Dinosaur.

Wild Child

Here's AK's coming home video:

video of us

One of the first days back home from the clinic:

AK

Here he is...







More soon!

TFal

We found that the sound of a TFal kettle boiling was really soothing:



C

Books

I've ordered The Baby Whisperer, and the 2009 edition of the US Pediatric Association's parent guide. What I didn't know about what this book was that it's almost 1000 pages long and covers everything under the sun. I hope they both arrive soon.

I did not get What to Expect in the First Year - I got another one with the subtitle "from hospital to reality" and thought that was an honest and frank title. It's not as popular but got high ratings.

We're pretty much expecting him to be early. He's pretty big already.

The rental crib comes soon.

Koe cover, Wozzeck

Y made the July-August cover of the artistic and well-written Koe magazine.


Also, I was able to procure a fifth row ticket to the opening night of Wozzeck. It'll be a month and a half after the baby, so I hope I get enough sleep.

Kyodo Samba Festival

Last night was the Kyodo Samba Festival. The station is not really a major junction, so there was a certain quaintness to it all. Yakisoba, golfish, cute toddlers in yukata - all part of the fun. And of course lots of jiggling bums.

Baby Bath Class

Y and I had a great time at baby washing school yesterday. Here's a video of my expertise.

Japan Post

Our package came finally. It was sent June 4th from Canada and arrived July 10th. Not bad, but a little late perhaps. That's not the issue.

It was opened by Japan Post.

Not just opened, but torn open, taped closed by what was probably a two-year-old, then wrapped with plastic with a sticker that said "This postal item was opened by Customs for inspection and was repacked by our office".

I phoned Japan Post and talked to a nice woman who insisted that it had nothing to do with Japan Post. She was ready and willing to pass the buck by giving me the phone number to Customs in Kawasaki so I could fight with them, but I was on my game.

"My pregnant wife needs those materials for her health and safety" - or something like that.

"Let me get your name and phone number so I can call you back with some information."

That's more like it.

Someone actually came to our house and talked to Y.

Someone from Customs is supposed to phone tomorrow.

I don't expect that it won't happen again. I'm just making sure that everybody who works at Japan Post realizes that if they open a package with baby clothes instead of dope, there will be repercussions.

Maybe it was the baby scissors that set off the X-Ray.

I guess if United Breaks Guitars, then Japan Post opens mail...

Jams, baby, Jams.

We went to Costco yesterday.

It was Y's (my wife's secret name - privacy is best) first time to any Costco, and she was blown away. I always am, too, anyway. Where else can you get a barrel of mayonnaise for ten bucks?

We picked up two year's worth of extra virgin olive oil for ¥2100, a bucket of mashed potatoes (just add water!), deodorant for my stinky pits, a really cheap Philips electric razor for merely ¥6,000, tons of grapefruit juice, and shipped it all back for ¥500. Cheap.

Also, we got two pairs of Jams for ¥777. You heard that right, ladies and gentlemen. Large size - with drawstrings for that expanding belly. Don't forget to buy men's, not women's. Lightweight cotton that's perfect for summer, either for lounging around watching J:COM TV or sleeping.

We also got our first batch of diapers. I think we got 148 small Pampers for ¥2200. That was cheaper than the Cainz Home down the road (near Machida) but we were too pooped to go the the Akachan Honpo right near the station. I have mixed feelings about that place. More on that later...

Time to try out the new razor before frisbee golf at Shonan Kinenbi Koen.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Akachan Honpo

There's a store in Japan with several branches called Akachan Honpo - roughly translated, Baby HQ.
It's raining today, but we might truck on over to see what's up.

What's cool in Japan is that you can also rent a lot of stuff, so for example, you're done with the crib in a year, you can regain that space.

The wedding was wonderful, as were all of the "kais".

C

syncing bookmarks

Occasionally I won't talk about becoming a Dad...

I'm using Firefox and Safari on three computers, and the bookmark situation is becoming Kafkaesque. I'm going to try Xmarks.

Also, I'm looking into composting. I'll be cruising through the blogosphere for info.

It stinks that the iPhone can't work with USB1.0. I like my PowerBook G4.

books

100 Days - and I/we feel fine.

Of course by this point in the pregnancy I've read the requisite books, including:

What to Expect When You're Expecting (4th Edition)

The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

The Expectant Father

These are the basic ones. There are more. I recommend all of them, but if I had to chose the best, it would be the Mayo Guide. It's invaluable medical information. What to Expect is great for figuring out feelings, which is really important. The Father is about financial choices and basically a pat on the shoulder to all Dads-to-be.

Happy reading.

C

IPhone blogging

So, here I am on the Odakyu line from Shinjuku, pressing on the glass face of my iPhone. It's not that bad, I should probably write something worthwhile if I'm ever going to be in the New York Times.

Tomorrow is T minus 100 days until I see the face of my son. There's something about that numerical milestone that sends shivers up my back. I feel that I'm standing al la Pink Floyd's The Wall' craning my neck to look up at the judge while at the same time cowering at his questions: Are you ready for it all?

I am.

More tomorrow.

C

Hello gaijin dads

This is my first post in my new blog. Just a quick test...

more to come.

C