2Y5M 39W0D 数 Counting

アラタはなぜか数字の９が好き。「ワン、トゥー、スリー、フォー」の後が「ナーイン！」だったり、６まで言えたのに、その次が「ナーイン！」だったり。今日もミニカーを並べていたので、「数えてみて」って何気なく言ってみたら、1から10まで英語で数えられた。

なんだ、できるんじゃない。パズルとかが得意なわりには数を数えることには興味がなかったが、やっとできるようになったのかな。それとも今までは、できないふりしていたのか。お風呂から出る時はマオリ語で10まで数えたりもするのキウイらしい？

Arata likes number 'Nine'. When he counts, he often goes, "One, two, three, four," then "Nine!" When he was lining up his toy cars, I said to him, "Can you count them?" He could manage to count them up to 10.

Well, done! I didn't know he could do that. He seems to be interested in puzzles but hasn't really showed any interest in counting. Has he mastered it recently? Or he was just testing us before? Jason and Arata often count from 1 to 10 in Maori when getting out of the bath. It's very Kiwi, isn't it?

2Y5M 38W6D バイバイ！ Bye bye!

タカラの招き猫のようなバイバイ、相変わらず両手だったり片手だったり。

記念にビデオに収めてみました。

数日前には、振りながら「ババイ」と言ってた。

アラタが同じぐらいの月齢の時は、カフェやレストランで、わざとスプーンを落としたりして、若いお姉さんの気を引いていた。タカラは、ニコニコしながら手をふって、Jason曰く、「ナンパ」している。

タカラは金曜日の明け方から39度程の熱が出ていたが昨日の夕方にやっと回復。熱でふらふらしているそんな時に、おもちゃ箱のふたを自分で閉めて、落ちてきたふたで右目の下を切った。目から出血したと思いJasonがStPeter'sのA&Eへ連れて行った。実際は目のふちを切って涙に血が混ざっていただけだったが、びっくりした～。

Takara's 'bye-bye' is still sometimes with both hands and it's very cute.

(Have a look at this video clip!)

A couple of days ago, he clearly said, "Ba-bye!" as well.

When Arata was about the same age, he often dropped a toy or spoon deliberately to draw attentions of young women. (It's called "Nampa" in Japanese.) Takara also tries to do the same by waving his hands with a big smile on his face!

From Friday morning, Takara had a temperature of about 39C. He recovered last night but when he still had a bit of temperature, he cut the underneath of his right eye with the lid of a big toy box. It looked as if blood was coming from his eye and Jason took him to the A&E at St Peter's. In fact, some blood got into his eye and came out with his tear but we were so shocked to see that.

2Y5M 38W4D としょかんにいこーね～ Let's go to the library!

アラタは、買い物の後、相変わらず「カフェにいこう」とスターバックスに誘う。そして、フラッペを飲みながらくつろいでいると、「としょかんにいこーね～」と目を輝かせて言う。

サリー州では5歳以下の子供の

図書館カードはメイジーちゃんの図柄入り。

ブックスタートの一環で、本を借りるとシールをもらえるので、アラタも台紙に貼って集めている。自分の背より高い貸し出しカウンターに本とカードを背伸びして置く。係のおばさんは、アラタの姿が見えないのでいつもびっくり。

After shopping, when we are relaxing over frappcino at Starbucks, Arata often says, "Let's go to the library" with his eyes wide open from excitement.

In Surrey, under 5 years get

a library card with Maisy's print on it.

As a part of Bookstart project, they are also encouraged to come to library. They can collect stickers each time they borrow a book. Arata of course loves collecting them. When he goes to the check-out counter, he puts a book and his card to the desk which is higher than his hight. The librarian behind the counter can't see him at all and always gets surprised.

2Y5M 38W3D 一本目！ First tooth!

おめでとう！タカラ、やっと一本目が生えてきた。まずは左下の歯から。アラタに遅れること４ヶ月。遅ければ遅い方がいいんだけど。歯を磨かせるのは一仕事だからね。

アラタカラで一緒に遊ぶことも増えてきた。ベッドの上でジャンプし始めたアラタを見て、タカラも真似している様子をビデオに撮った。

Oliver宝のページ

にJasonがUp。

Congratulations, Takara. His first tooth has cut through. It's 4 months later than Arata had his first one. But the later the better. It's a hard work for us to brush their teeth!

Aratakara have started to play together. Often Takara copies what Arata does. We captured Takara jumping on our bed with Arata and Jason has uploaded a short clip on

"Oliver Takara's web page".

2Y5M 38W2D 8ヶ月検診 8 month check-up

タカラの8ヶ月検診（ヘルスビジターと）。発達テストは小さい積み木を左手から右手に持ち変える事ができるか。プラスいくつか問診をして、ブックスタートの本を数冊もらった。

もう少し離乳食を進めてくださいと言われた。アラタの時は段階的に離乳食を進めていたが、今は、あっという間に一日が終わるから考える暇もなく、未だにピューレに近いものを一日二回しかあげていなかった。

（きゃー、アラタは36週でもうベイビーパスタなんて食べてる！！）

三回食にして、家族と同じものを（つぶして）食べさせてもよいし、フィンガーフードも混ぜ、自分で食べる練習を始めてみるのもいいと言われた。

また、６ヶ月頃からオープンカップを慣らしていけるので、母乳育児の赤ちゃんは、ボトルや赤ちゃん用カップを準備しなくても、おっぱいからいきなりカップに移行できると言われた。飲み口が斜めになっているカップをもらった。（写真の紫のカップ）

Takara's 8 month check-up with health visitor. He was tested if he could pass a small block from his left hand to the right. I was asked a couple of questions, whether he could pull himself up or crawl or clap hands etc. Then she gave us a BOOKSATRT bag with a couple of books.

I was told to proceed further on weaning, 3 meals a day with more lumpy food. I was planning more carefully when Arata was weaning but I have no time to think about it now. Takara still eats only twice a day and I still give him lots of pureed food.

(Arata was already eating baby pasta at 36 weeks!)

He can eat family food, and we can also introduce some finger food for him to eat by himself.

She told me that breast fed babies can go straight from breast to cup, without experiencing bottles or beakers. Cups can be introduced at 6 months old. She gave us this purple cup.

2Y5M 37W6D 車酔い Car sickness

昨日、ロンドンまで車で出かけた。渋滞で目的地まで2時間。アラタはひどい車酔いをした。

ノッティングヒルを通過中「アラタ　うんちした」と言い出す。車を止める適当な所もないので、もうすぐだからと、しばらく我慢させてみたが、愚図りがひどくなったので、横道に逸れて車を止める。同時に少し吐いた。（ウンチはしていなかった。）あと少しだったので、着替えさせるとすぐ出発。これが車酔いだったという事、「アラタおりる～」と抵抗していたのは本気だったという事に気付かなかった。

その後、カムデンに着く頃までに数回吐いた。着替えはもうないし、外は雨。シャツが汚れて、それでもアラタはシートベルトで押さえつけられたまま、泣き叫び続ける。身動きできずにまた吐くから、吐しゃ物で窒息するんじゃないかとヒステリックになる私。「どうして車を止めないのよ！」という私に、「どこにも止める所はないよ！」とJasonも言い返す。

まるで拷問にあったかのようなアラタは、青白い顔で、頭からお尻まで吐しゃ物にまみれ、抵抗する気力を失ってしまったかのように薄目を開けたまま眠ってしまった。私は本気でアラタが死んじゃったのではないかと思った。（心が痛い・・・。）

友達のうちに着くとシャワーを借り、着替えを買いに走った。カフェでランチを完食した時にはアラタは回復していたが、ロンドンブリッジへ別の用事で行く時には、さすがに車には乗りたがらなかった。私とアラタは地下鉄で行った。

反省。2時間の間、休憩を一度も取らず、ビスケットを食べさせ続けた。一回目に吐いた後の対応もまずかった。車から降ろして上げず、シールブックで遊ばせたり、ジュースを飲ませたり。

乗り物酔いは、「動き」を察知している耳からの情報と、（近いところを見ることによる）目からの「停止」の情報の間の「ずれ」により起こる。

（このサイトの説明がわかり易い。）　

（この写真はヨーグルト食べて口の周りがべとべとの状態。）

We went to London by car yesterday. It took nearly 2 hours because of traffic jam. Arata had a terrible car sickness.

When we were driving around Notting Hill, Arata started to say, "Arata had poo." There was no place we could park and I told him to wait for a while. But he started to complain more, and we decided to drive into a side way and stopped. As soon as we stopped, he vomited a bit. (He didn't poo.) We changed his clothes and carried on as we were running late and we didn't realise he had a car sickness. He insisted, "I don't want to get into the car!" but we didn't take it seriously.

After that, Arata threw up a couple of times in a half an hour. We had no more spare clothes and it was raining outside. Arata's t-shirt got soiled but he was still strapped into the car seat and couldn't move. He kept crying but we had no way to stop around busy Camden area. He vomited again violently. I was so scared that he might get choked on his own vomit. I screamed at Jason, "Why can't you stop somewhere?" Jason then shouted back at me, "We have nowhere to stop!"

Arata was fighting as if he was tortured. But soon he started to doze off with his mouth half open as if he had given up resisting. I even thought he was dying...

When we arrived at Koichiro's, he let us use the bathroom to wash Arata. By the time we had lunch, Arata recovered fully and he finished his bowl of pasta. But when we went to London Bridge later to see Ozlem, Arata didn't want to go back to the car. Arata and I took a tube.

Well, it's all our fault. We didn't have any break during 2 hour drive and we kept letting him eat biscuits all the way. After his first vomit, we didn't stop long enough. I even gave him a sticker book to play with...

(About car sickness)

In this photo, Arata is eating yogurt.

2Y5M 37W4D 最近のタカラ Takara's recent development

今朝、アラタがナーサリーへ行く時に「バイバイ」と手を振ると、タカラも両手をあげて振り返した。あら、いつの間に出来るの？と、何度も今日は「練習」させられたから、招き猫のようだけれども、片手のバイバイもできるようになった。

はいはいでどこでも移動できるようになると、ちょっとした所に上るようになってきた。暑いから窓は開けっ放しなので、バルコニーへ続く窓枠に上って、でも足から降りられないから、頭からダイブしそうで何度はらはらしたことか。この調子だとそのうち落ちる。

タカラを布団に寝かしておけば、目が覚めた時に自分で這い出して来る。ただし、夜やられるのは怖い。こっちがテレビでも見ながらくつろいでいると、寝ているはずのタカラがいきなりそこにいるんだもの。この写真は、あまり好きでないものを食べさせられた時のタカラの表情。

This morning, Takara waved 'bye bye' to Arata when he left for nursery. Well, with both hands. Towards the end of the day, Takara was able to wave with only one hand, as I asked him to wave lots of times.

Takara is really mobile now. He has even started to climb up a step. We've kept the doors to the balcony open in the last few days and we've rescued him from falling to the balcony on his head a couple of times just in the nick of time. He can't climb down by himself. He is going to fall at least once...

Takara also sometimes gets up and crawls to the sitting room from the bedroom without our help. It's very good! But when he does this when we are relaxing in the sitting room after he once goes to bed at night, we feel frightened! He should not be there, but he is! Look at Takara's expression in this photo. He is tasting a new food for a first time.

2Y5M 37W2D 最近のアラタ Arata's recent development

ここ数週間、ダブルバギーがパンクし続けているから、シングルバギーにタカラを乗せて押しながら、アラタの手をつないで外出。歩くのが少し遅いから、急いでいる時には私がイライラするのを除いて、不便を感じない。昼寝をしない子だし、もうバギーは必要ないようだ。

バギーに座っていないので、アラタは買い物に積極的に参加する。商品をカゴに入れたり、会計時にコンベアにカゴの中身を出したり、買い物袋を持って歩いたり。帰り道にアラタは「カフェに行こう」と必ず言う。そのまま走ってスターバックスに着くと、振り返りもせずに店内になだれこみ、椅子に座って私を待っている。

ラズベリーフラッペが彼のお気に入りで、「ママとシェアしない」と頑固なので、「これ、誰が買った？」「ママが買った」「でしょ、ママも飲む」という会話（脅し？）が毎回繰り返される。

たった数ヶ月前までは、買い物やカフェにアラタを連れて行くのは大変だった。じっとしていなくて、何処かへ行っちゃうから落ち着いていられずストレスだったから。今はアラタと楽しくお出かけ。

そうそう、髪の毛を床屋さんに切ってもらうのも以前ほど騒がなくなった。こんなに短くなっちゃったけど。

As our Phil and Ted buggy has kept flat tires, we go out with only a single buggy. With one hand, I push the buggy and with another hand, I hold Arata's hand. Except for my occasional frustrations, when we are in a hurry Arata seems to walk too slowly, I don't find it inconvenient. Arata hasn't had a nap during day and he probably doesn't need a buggy any more.

Because Arata is not strapped to the buggy, he helps my shopping. He puts stuff into the shopping basket and takes them out onto the conveyor at the casher. He sometimes carries a light shopping bag. On our way home, Arata always says, "Let's go to the cafe." Then he runs towards Starbuks and without looking back at us, he gets in ans sits at a table waiting for us.

Arata's favourite is raspberry frappe. He always insists that he doesn't want to 'share' it with me. I ask him, "Who bought this frappe?" and Arata says, "Mama did" so I go, "See, I will have some!" Every time, we have this conversation (threatening?)....

Until only a couple of months ago, it was stressful to go out with Arata. He would run away quickly and I always had to chase after him. But now, it's quite fun to go out with him.

By the way, Arata didn't cry as much as before when he had his hair cut. He was sitting on his own and let his hair cut although he cried a bit.

2Y5M 36W5D オリバー Oliver

「タカラ」はミドルネームなので、英国では99％「オリバー」として生活している。ところが、

ベイビーマッサージに参加していた男児が全員オリバーで驚いた事もあったし、

その後も「オリバーくん」にはよく会うと思っていたら、2006年の赤ちゃんの名前ランキングの第5位だって！

予定日過ぎても名前が決まらず、慌てて決めたことは確か。でも、ありふれた名前にはしたくないと思っていたのに、なんで～。アラタを妊娠中、女の子だったら「サクラ」ちゃんにするつもりだった。ちょっと古風で、今時ありがちな、振り仮名がないと読めない名前でもなくて最高だと。ところが、「サクラ」はその年の名前ランキングの１位でした。

相談したわけでもないのに、なんでみんな同じ事を考えるのか、とても不思議・・・。

英国2006年男の子の名前ランキングは、1 ジャック 6,928, 2 モハメッド 5,991, 3 トーマス 5,921, 4 ジョシュア　5,808, 5 オリバー 5,208

（20位までのランキング。）

Takara is recognised as 'Oliver' in everyday life.

As I wrote before, when I took him to a baby massage class, I was quite surprised to know that all the boys were 'Oliver'.

We often come across another 'Oliver' as well. We've recently found that 'Oliver' is the 5th popular boy's name in 2006. No wonder....

We were a bit running out of time to choose Takara's name. In fact, we didn't know how he would be called even after his due date. We preferred to choose not so common name. When I was pregnant with Arata, I was thinking about "Sakura" if the baby was a girl. It means cherry blossom. A bit traditional and not too wild name, considering the fact lots of Japanese parents give their children a name we can't even read. But surprisingly, "Sakura" was the number 1 in the girls name ranking in 2004!

I wonder why lots of us choose the same name......

The most popular names for baby boys in 2006

1 Jack 6,928, 2 Muhammad (all spellings) 5,991, 3 Thomas 5,921, 4 Joshua 5,808, 5 Oliver 5,208, 6 Harry 5,006, 7 James 4,783, 8 William 4,327, 9 Samuel 4,320, 10 Daniel 4,303, 11 Charlie 4,178, 12 Benjamin 3,778, 13 Joseph 3,755, 14 Callum 3,517, 15 George 3,386, 16 Jake 3,353, 17 Alfie 3,194, 18 Luke 3,108,19 Matthew 3,043, 20 Ethan 3,020

(From this article.)

2Y5M 36W4D 息抜き To have a break...

息抜きが必要よ。昨日はすっかりテンパッていて、Jasonにあたりちらし、ジムでステップしても楽しくなくて、かえって疲れた。

今日はJosieと夜遊び。もちろん、子ども＆ダンナ抜き。ウイスリーガーデンへピクニックコンサートに行った。

去年に続き、

『Dirty Dancing （ダーティーダンシング）』。シャンペーンとピムス飲んで、舞台の前で踊って、10代の少女のように2人で黄色い声を上げてきたわ。

ハムステッドヒースの『DD』ほど「女ばかり」の雰囲気はなく、盛り上がりに欠けたのだが、Josie曰く、「ここはサリーだからね。」まあ、そういうことか。それにしても、こんなに近くで『DD』が楽しめるとは、Wokingも悪くない。

I desperately needed a break. I was so tired yesterday and I picked on Jason. I didn't enjoy my favourite Step and I got more tired after the class, than refreshed.

I went out with Josie this evening. With no kids, no husbands. We went to the Wisley Garden to a picnic concert. It was "Dirty Dancing" night "again"!

(I went to "DD" picnic concert last year as well.)

We had a glass of champagne and a large pint of Pimms. Then danced and sang along in front of the stage. We couldn't stop screaming as if we were still teenagers!

It wasn't as wild as the one in Hampstead Heath because there were 'more men' yesterday. ("DD" is for women!!) Josie said, "Well, you know, we are in Surrey." Of course... Anyway, it isn't so bad to live in Woking. We can do lots of things locally!

2Y5M 36W3D ごはんにバター Add butter to dishes

2ヵ月ぶりに体重測定。タカラ8.22Kg。出生体重からの現在の予測体重は9Kgだから伸びは鈍化。よく動くようになったし、好き嫌いが激しくなり、食べる量が減った。ヨーグルトやフルーツピューレと混ぜないと食べないこともあるので、こんなものか。

アラタは10.84Kg。時間をかければ完食するし、以前より食べるので、3ヶ月前で300G増えたのは安心。と、思ったらヘルスビジターが寄ってきて、「アラタは体重が全然増えない、からもっと脂肪分の多いものを食べさせて、念のため医者で検査してもらうように。」

アラタの出生体重（3150g）からの現在の予測体重は12Kgだし、同月齢の子どもの体重の上下幅の下限ぎりぎりではある。気にはしているけれど、よく動くし「絶対に」昼寝はしない。だから一日のエネルギーの消費量が多いからだと思うが「取り分けた上にバターやチーズを加えてあげなさい」（試しにやってみてるけど・・・）とか「栄養剤を飲ませろ」と言われて少し疑問・・・。

4回食にするとか、もう少し健康的な解決もあるかもしれないので医者に連れて行こうと思う。

Went to the Child clinic to have Aratakara weighed. Takara was 8.22Kg. From his birth weight, it is expected to be at about 9Kg now. Apparently his growth has slowed down. But he has started to be more mobile and be fussy about food at the same time. and it's quite understanding result. Takara often refuses food if it's not his favourite. Sometimes I have to mix 'savour' food with yogurt or fruit puree to encourage him to eat.

Arata was 10.84Kg. He has started to eat well, although he takes long time to finish meals. For me it looked good to gain 300g in the last 3 months. But when I was getting ready to go home, a health visitor approached me saying, "Arata hasn't gained much weight and he has to see a doctor."

From his birth weight, Arata would be at around 12Kg by now, according to the British child growth map. And his current weight is nearly on the bottom line of the weight range of his age. We have, of course, been a bit concern about it. But Arata is really active and he doesn't have a nap during day and probably he uses up all the energy he produced. I'm not sure if it is really good to "add extra butter or cheese on his meal" or "give him some supplements" as the health visitor suggested. (I have already started to put extra butter on his meal anyway.)

We may have more constructive, for me at least, solutions like giving 4 meals a day etc. I should take him to see a doctor.

2Y5M 36W0D 乗り物 Riding bike & car

昨日、とうとうアラタに自転車を買った。陽子さんが言っていたのは、「三輪車はすぐに乗らなくなるので、補助輪付きの自転車を買っちゃった方がいいよ。」12インチが一番小さい自転車だけれども、アラタはまだ少しだけペダルに足が届かない。

今日はトイザラスで遊ぶ。トイザラスは乗り物の試乗が出来るから、子供達をしばらく遊ばせる事ができて便利。タカラは車に座ってこんなに嬉しそう！

We bought a bike for Arata. Yoko, my friend in Japan who has 2 kids, told me that it would be much more worth buying a small bike with training wheels than buying tricycles because children grow out of trycles very quickly. Arata's bike is the smallest we can get here, 12 inches. He can't quite reach the pedals yet.

We went to Toysarus yesterday. As we can try on toy bikes and cars etc, I sometimes take Aratakara there to let them play with them for a while. Takara was on a red car. He looked so happy!

2Y5M 35W5D 一眼レフ SLR camera

元同僚のカタリーナは写真の腕がよく、ITの仕事をやめて、写真で生計を立てる決心をしたばかり。今日も練習のため、アラタカラの写真を撮っていた。

（彼女の写真サイトはこちら。）

私もちょっとカメラを借りてみた。やっぱり一眼レフは違う。（写真は彼女のカメラで私が撮ったもの。）私は、高校入学祝いに祖母に一眼レフを買ってもらった。甲子園で写真を撮るために。その後、カメラもアップグレードして、写真コースへ行ったりもしたが、センスがないからしばらく忘れていた。一眼レフのデジカメがほしくなってきた。

Katariina is an ex-colleague. She's got a talent in photography and she has just decided to quit her IT job to pursue her photographic career. She was practicing on taking photos with Aratakara today.

(Her site is here.)

I tried taking a couple of photos with her camera. (This photo was taken by me with her camera.) My grandma bought me a SLR camera after I passed an entrance exam to high school when I was 15. It was my first SLR camera and I wanted to take photos of baseball matches. Since then, my camera has upgraded and I have even taken a photography course a couple of years ago. But I haven't used it for a while as I realised I have no talent in photography, and I've never owned a digital SLR. I want to have one now!

2Y5M 35W4D スポーツクラブ Fitness club

残りの産休生活、運動しようと思い立つ。1ヶ月ほど前から託児所付きのジム、LA Fitnessに通っている。David Lloyd の方がプレイエリア付きのカフェもあってオススメだが、託児所の中が年齢別に分かれているのでやめた。人に預けられる事に慣れていないタカラはアラタと一緒の部屋でみてもらえる方が安心。

入会直後の月曜日にアラタカラは託児所デビュー。迎えに行くと、アラタは楽しそうに遊んでいたが、タカラは「何で置いていったんだよ」という顔をして泣き出した。数日後、タカラだけを預けてみたが、やはり恨まれたのでそれ以来託児所は利用していない。2人を2時間預けてたったの7ポンド（約1400円）だから安い。でも、気が向いたら行って預けられる程定員が多くないので、なかなか利用できないのが現状。

結局、夜、Jasonに子供を預けて行くのがメインになった。車で直行直帰すると、1時間20分家を空けるだけですむから悪くないし、エアロビクスとかステップとか、音楽にあわせて運動するのは本当に楽しい。私のお気に入りのクラスは火木のボディステップ。ロンドンのシティ（金融街）のジムにはエアロビ系でも男性がいたが、ここWokingでは、女性しか見かけない。そして、会社帰りのOLよりも、ダンナに子供を任せて来ている母の方が多そう。

私がジムに出かけようとすると、「アラタもジムヘいく。」託児所で遊びたいってことだけど。（写真は少し前にかわのが撮った「あらた　おり　だっこ」の場面。）

I've decided to join the gym in the rest of my maternity leave and have been doing for nearly a month. The LA Fitness nearby has a creche. I went to view David Lloyd, too. They have a big nice cafe with a play area and their creche is huge. But I decided to join LA as at the creche, I can leave both Aratakara in the same room, Takara would be doing better with his big brother, I thought.

I took them to the creche for the first time on the following Monday I joined the club. When I went back to pick them up, Arata was playing happily. But as soon as Takara saw me, he started to cry as if he was saying, "Why on earth did you leave me here!" A few days later, I left only Takara, but with the same result. I haven't used the creche since. It costs only 7 pounds for 2 kids up to 2 hours. It's a bargain. But it's not as convenient as I thought as the space is limited and it's not quite possible to just pop in to leave them and go to the gym.

I mostly go to the gym in the early evening after Jason finishes his work. If I just go to attend a class and come straight home, it takes only less than 1.5 hours. Not bad. I love aerobics or step classes. Moving my body along some music is such fun. My favourite classes so far are body step on Tue and Thurs. I always saw a couple of male in aerobics type of classes when I would go to the gym near the city in London. But here in Woking, I've only seen women. It's always a mixture of those who come to the class after work, and mothers who leave their children to their husbands!

When I am leaving for the gym, Arata says, "Arata is coming to the gym, too." Of course, he wants to play in the creche! (This is a photo taken by Kawano a few weeks ago. Arata was cuddling Takara.)