Here’s your Japanese lesson for the day: “tomodachi” (toe-moe-DAH-chee) means “friend”. Now use it in some sentences: If you missed my last post, Kyoko & Megumi (mother and daughter) are my tomodachis from a post-college year in Japan. Megumi’s son Riku is Tate’s new tomodachi.

Well, they’re friends as much as 14- and 15-month olds can be. At least the language barrier isn’t an issue, since they aren’t talking yet! Every day they warm up to each other a little more, and they’ll probably be best buds by the time Riku leaves next week. At this point, they generally play near each other, not with each other. Each is into his own thing, and they’re always on the move. You’ll notice that they’re sitting down in the pictures – it’s the only way we can keep them together long enough to capture a shot.

Here’s another example…Megumi & Kyoko brought Tate an adorable pair of squeaky shoes. Maybe I don’t get out enough, but I’d never seen anything like them. They squeak with every step he takes, which of course he finds very entertaining. Riku has his own pair, and we were trying to get a video of them both walking around. I have 3 versions of this, in which both were walking in opposite directions, quickly out of my camera’s viewfinder. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it, but I think you’ll get the idea of the shoes.

I wouldn’t put these on Tate if I was having a short-fuse day, but they’re definitely a good way to monitor his whereabouts! If you’re interested, I found an American company, Itzy Bitzy, that sells really cute squeaky shoes, and they support a good cause too. Check out the site for more info. 

Anyway, the boys are having fun and so are the adults. Today they survived the Mall of America, so tomorrow we’re going to try Babies ‘R Us!

Update from Baby Jet Lag: the last 2 nights have gone very well. Riku is awake pretty early, but sleeping mostly through the night. Limiting daytime naps has helped, I think.

Fun Fact about Kara: After college, I spent a year teaching English in Japan. During that time, I became good friends with a family in my town. The mother and daughter, Kyoko and Megumi, came to Minnesota for my wedding, and we went to Japan for Megumi’s wedding in 2007.* They kept asking me when I was having a baby, and I teased that Megumi should have one first.

Sure enough, little Riku was born a month before Tate. The three of them are travelling to California for a wedding, but stopping here first. The thought of taking a 16-month old on a 14-hour flight boggles my mind, but apparently it went well. What’s not going well is his transition to our time zone.

Little Riku slept on our ride home from the airport and then was up many times throughout the night. They’re visiting another friend in town today, and she just told me that he’s been sleeping all afternoon. Meaning that tonight will probably be a bit tough for all involved…

It’s understandable- jet lag is a problem for anyone, and babies just sleep when they’re tired. I’m doing a little internet research and found some good info at Daddy Types. My favorite tip there is getting the child some sun exposure in the middle of the day to help reset his internal clock. Thankfully we have sun in the forecast!

At My Asian Princess, Stephe, (aka Queen Mama) blogs about her daughter, adopted from China. She says that babies generally adjust one hour per day, so it takes about 12 days to make the switch. For her, that was a drop in the bucket. For us, that’s their entire trip- ugh! At least they’ll be ready for California.

Stephe also recommends limiting daytime naps to two hours. Hmm, that sounds familiar- like what we did when Tate had his days and nights turned around as an infant. We’ll have to give that a try tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more stories and photos from our Japanese homestay adventure! In the meantime, does anyone have any tips for helping a baby get over jet lag?

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*Why is there a deer lawn ornament in this photo, you ask? Well, his name is Timmy and I’ll blog about him another day. Suffice it to say that Timmy is quite the world traveler.

It’s a little early, but I’m going to go ahead and wish myself a Happy Birthday. Approximately 32 years ago, my 10 pound, 1 ounce self was entering the world. Thanks again, Mom, and sorry about being late!

And not only was I born 32 years ago, but my first birthday was being celebrated 31 years ago. (I know, I’m awesome with the maths.)

I’m pretty sure magnetic birthday party invitations weren’t an option for my parents. But now, in the wonders of 2009, you can put your child’s birthday invitation on a magnet, with his or her adorable photo, in the colors of your choosing. What a wonderful world.

So without further ado, here are my favorites:

All of these designs can be ordered as either magnets or on linen cardstock. You can view the entire birthday invitation gallery online.

And…happy birthday to Sue, Sonya, Queen Elizabeth and Tony Danza.

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When we were pregnant with Tate, we started telling our family around the 8-week mark. All of my siblings were visiting my mom over the 4th of July weekend, and after breakfast I gave her an early birthday present – a little red wagon for her new grandbaby. My sister and sister-in-law screamed “are you pregnant?!” and suddenly there was lots of crying and laughing and hugging.

For my husband’s parents, we gave a tiny life jacket for the new grandbaby to use at their cabin. They were completely surprised, and we got a few happy tears out of Granny. I can only imagine having my firstborn son tell me he’s going to have a baby of his own!

With other friends or co-workers, I got to turn down a glass of wine or extra candy because it “wouldn’t be good for the baby”. My aunt called to offer me a discount at her clothing store, and I told her that I wouldn’t be buying any regular clothes for the next 9 months or so.

One of my friends sent her parents on a scavenger hunt that ended in their kitchen, where there was a bun in the oven- ha! Another friend emailed a picture of her son in a “Big Brother” t-shirt to her parents.

I did a little internet search on creative ways to tell people that you’re pregnant. My favorite was a woman that sent her parents a dozen roses with a note that said “11 red roses from your baby and 1 pink rose from ours”. My least favorite was putting the ultrasound picture on a cake and bringing it to a family meal. Personally, I don’t think uterus photos belong on dessert.

How did you share your pregnancy news? What were the best reactions?

Photo Courtesy:
Mr. Usaji

Before Tate was born, I had great plans to teach him sign language as soon as possible. I ordered a book online and was encouraged to learn that signing helps children speak sooner and increases their IQ, in addition to the obvious communication benefits.

The authors of this particular book have developed a signing vocabulary for babies, using simple gestures they can master. Some are the actual American Sign Language (ASL) signs and some have been specifically created.

Tate was less than 6 months old when I first got the book, so I just skimmed it, thinking I would read it in more detail when he was a little older. (9-12 months is the age when most babies show interest in signs.) My husband of course wanted to know how to sign “poop”. We found it amusing that this most common of baby needs didn’t make it into their list of Top 100 Baby Signs, but “hippopotamus” did!

We started off with the mealtime basics “more” and “all done”, although I rarely used the former since I didn’t feel like putting down his bowl and spoon between each bite to do the two-handed sign. He eventually picked up “all done” but that didn’t exactly give us a huge range of parent-child communication.

After one particularly frustrating day of not understanding what Tate wanted and needed, my husband begged me to order the signing DVDs that our sister-in-law had been raving about. I decided to check them out at the library first, to see if we liked them. We were soon singing and signing along with Rachel. Okay, when I say “we”, I mean “me”. Tate liked watching the kids on the video, but I was skeptical that he could actually pick up any signs.

At a minimum, I figured that the videos were a good way for me to learn the signs. I tried to reinforce them as we encountered the words throughout our day – while reading books, playing with toys, eating, etc. Then one day I asked “Tate, can you sign ‘book’?” and he did! I couldn’t believe it. The one that really floored me was “friend”, a more complicated sign with pointer fingers interlocked, first one on top, then the other.

We’ve gone through the first 2 DVDs now, and he knows 12 signs. I love understanding him more and just having a connection. Even when it’s not something essential, it’s fun to sign “bike” together when we see a biker go by. He seems to get a kick out of it too.

His favorite sign is “dog” and he excitedly pats his hip whenever we see one outside or in a book. If I’m holding him and he can’t access his hip, he’ll reach down and pat mine instead. While we were visiting family over Easter, Tate signed every five minutes or so to remind us that they have a dog.

I can’t really say enough good things about signing in general, and especially these DVDs. I see on their website that there’s a set designed specifically for babies; we’ve been using the regular Signing Time series. Because this series uses actual ASL signs, some seem a bit complicated for Tate at 14 months. As I mentioned, though, he adapts and I generally know what he’s trying to sign.

Who else is using sign language with their children? What’s worked or not worked for your family?

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I know it’s a little late for this, but we’ve been sick, teething (molars!) and out of town, so I’m still catching up…

Plus, if you just had an Easter baby, chances are good that ordering birth announcements has fallen somewhere behind feedings, diapers and sleep on your to-do list! So here they are, direct from MagnetStreet Baby, the sweetest Easter birth announcements around…

Now bunnies and chocolate are all well and good, but I’d like to close this with a wonderful post about the real meaning of Easter. It’s written by MckMama, and I couldn’t really say it any better myself. If you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t seen the “praying for Stellan” or “Not Me Monday” buttons around the mommy blogosphere, check out My Charming Kids to learn more.

Hope Easter weekend was meaningful and special for you and your family! Did you do anything different this year from the past? What are your Easter traditions?

Yesterday was really fun. My mom was in town, so she and Tate and I had lunch together and went shopping all afternoon. Looking back, though, I found myself thinking “it’s great that today just flew by…what am I going to do all day tomorrow?!”

I have such thoughts somewhat frequently, and the real problem is not that sometimes I’m bored. I’m not looking for more activities to fill my stay-at-home-mom day. Rather, I’m looking for a new attitude.

Basically, it feels like I’m always trying to pass time. But until when? What’s the goal?

Back when I had a regular job, part of me was always waiting for 5pm, then always waiting for the weekend to arrive. What am I waiting for now?

For Tate to start talking, so we can have conversation? To be done with diapers? (Possibly ) For him to go off to kindergarten? (Definitely not ; I can’t even think about that one without getting misty-eyed!)

It’s a catch-22, where I hate that he’s growing up so fast but also seemingly can’t wait for him to grow up. Don’t get me wrong, I love being home with my son and am so thankful to have the opportunity to do so. So how do I enjoy each day, instead of trying to get to the end of it? How do I enjoy the journey?

Does anyone else have these thoughts? Have you found any solutions? Am I just over-analyzing?

Photo Courtesy:
Robbie-73

This week we finally called it…Tate is a walker.

It’s taken longer than I had expected- on January 18, I wrote in his journal “You took several steps this week; I wonder if you’ll be walking by your birthday?”. He got up to about 5 or 6 steps sometime in February, then seemed to regress a bit. The last few weeks he picked up steam, and my husband kept saying, “okay, now he’s walking, right?”.

I’m not sure why I have the household power of declaring the achievement of baby milestones – maybe because I’m the one that records them in the journal and the blog? Anyway, I have the power and my rule was that a “walker” chooses to walk from Point A to Point B instead of crawling. And this week, he’s there.

We thought part of the reason it was taking him so long to walk was because of the slipperiness of our hardwood floors. Either that was faulty reasoning, or he’s just got super-Spiderman-grip now, but he’s cruising around even in stocking feet. I think his favorite part is that he can carry two things in his hands now. Usually it’s 2 shoes or the 2 remote controls. Here’s the evidence:

Well, I’m off to write in his journal… Who has a good “learning to walk” story about their children?

And…who knows what movie is quoted in the title of this post?

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Hopefully my last post gave some good reading (and listening!) material to the dads-to-be out there. But reading is not the only way to get prepared for fatherhood- there’s also shopping to be done! No, don’t click away quite yet… 

A mom-to-be gives the world visual evidence that she is expecting (once you’re past that awkward “is she pregnant or just a little fat?” stage- ugh!).

The fun part of that is the attention from anyone and everyone; the bad part is complete strangers offering you advice and touching your belly. If you’re a dad-to-be who wants a little of that attention, you might need to “wear it on your sleeve”. Bonus: you probably don’t need to worry about anyone trying to touch your belly.

The “Be Kind to Me” shirt is at MollyAnna. Check out a spoof of the mobster classic - GoodFather – at BellaBlu Maternity and the dad versions of [bump] wear too.

Now on to a more essential item…if Dad wants/needs his own diaper bag, there are some really unique options out there. Trust me, a diaper bag doesn’t need to look like an oversized purse!

How about a messenger-style bag featuring the logo of your favorite sports team? Or a backpack that looks rugged enough for your next camping trip? Check out DadGear bags at CSN Baby.

The single-strap DJ Diaper Bag from Fleurville is at BabyOliver.com in a variety of colors and even a khaki camo print. It’s shown above in “ballistic black” for that extra touch of masculinity. In addition to space for all the baby essentials, there are pockets for business cards, sunglasses and electronics, plus a carabiner to hold your keys.

If you’re not interested in carrying any type of bag, how about a Diaper Vest? I’m serious, this thing is super cool! It has special areas for bottles, diapers and even a changing pad. The wipes pocket can be accessed from both inside and outside the fleece vest. Genius! Visit Emmy & Ally for more details.

Okay, dads, that’s enough shopping for one day- go outside or watch some TV. Better yet, offer to give your pregnant wife a foot massage!

Photo Courtesy:
MollyAnna
CSN Baby
CSN Baby
BabyOliver.com
Emmy&Ally