2Y7M 47W2D くじらを見に行く Going to see whales

アラタはよくしゃべる。「～～だから、～～～でしょ」とか「～～したり、～～してね、～～じゃん」と、尽きる事がない、そしてばっちり埼玉弁。最近は英語と日本語という二つの言語の存在がわかってきたので、「日本語ではカメで、英語ではタートル」なんてナマイキな発言もする。

今週末から、Jasonの従兄で英国在住のデービット一家と、ニュージーランドからやってくるティナ（デービットのお姉さん）の家族と、ウエールズへホリデーに行く。6寝室あるマナーハウス（昔の貴族の館）を一週間借り切るのだ。

その話しをしていたら、アラタは、「ウエール（＝くじら）どこに見に行くの？」とか「まなちゃんのおうちに行くの？」だって。もう一度説明したら、「まなちゃん、今、日本行ってるからね。アラタ、マナーハウスにくじら見に行く。」に改善された。くじらが見れなかったらがっかりするんだろうなあ・・・。

Arata is a real chatterbox. Often he doesn't stop talking. He goes, "..., then, ..., isn't it?" or "you know, ..., and ..., right?" etc, in Japanese. Well, I have to say that his Japanese is with a bit of "Saitama", the area I am from, dialect. It's not a proper dialect because Saitama is close to Tokyo and we regard our speaking as "standard Japanese". But the endings of the sentences sometimes have some unique tags and Arata speaks with them!

Arata now sort of knows that 2 different languages exist. He sometimes speaks English to Jason but never does so to me. Today he was saying in Japanese, "In Japanese, it's 'Kame', and in English, it's 'Turtle'". He is getting cheekier!

We are going to Wales for holiday from this weekend. We go there with Jason's cousin David's family, who live in England, and David's sister Tina's family, who are coming from New Zealand. We are staying at a manor house.

When Arata overheard our conversation, he started to say, "Where are we going to see whales?" then "Are we going to Mana's house?" After I gave him a better explanation, it sounded like he understood better. He said, "Mana chan is now in Japan," (it's true, he can remember that Mana is in Japan at the moment), "Arata is going to manor house to see whales." I think he will be very disappointed if he can't see any whales...

2Y7M 47W1D かさ Arata's first umbrella

まなちゃんやりりちゃんが傘を持っているのを見て、アラタもほしがっていたので買ってあげた。

典型的なイギリスのしとしと雨ぐらいでは英国人は傘はささない。降ったり止んだりするので、傘を持っているほうが面倒くさいから、私ですら家を出る時にざーざー降っていない限り傘無しでしのぐ。だから、もちろん、アラタぐらいの子供が傘を持っている姿は目にしない。たいていはレインコート止まりだ。

雨が待ち遠しいから、降っていなくても傘を持って出かけるアラタは、ここ数日、長靴しかはかない。きちんと自分でコーディネイトしているようだ。

Since Arata saw Mana and Lilia using their umbrellas, he wanted to have his own. Now he's got one.

Unlike in Japan, a lot of people here don't use umbrellas unless rain is quite strong. The rain here is usually not as hard as it is in Japan and probably if you are so sensitive to go out with umbrella, you'd have to take one every day. Even I don't take an umbrella when I go out, even when the sky looks very dark, unless it's already raining when I leave home. Naturally, you don't see children Arata's age holding an umbrella. They are in rain coat at best if rain is hard. That's why Arata stands out when he walks slowly with his umbrella carefully held up by his both hands.

Arata is looking forward to rain, and he insists to take his umbrella whenever we go out. In the last couple of days, he only wears gumboots as well. He seems to try to coordinate his 'fashion'.

2Y7M 47W0D 甘えん坊オーリー Cuddly Oli

タカラは甘えん坊。顔を私の胸にすり付けてネコのようにゴロゴロしたり、ぱっと床の上にうつぶせに横になって、私達が「甘えん坊、オ～リ～」と言ってくすぐるのを待っていたりする。

St Peter's Hospitalの小児科へ。アラタの体重が増えないということでGPにリファーされた。確かに去年の11月から半年ほど、体重が横ばいだったので心配していたが、最近は少し増えてきた。健康そうなので、特に検査はしないが、栄養士とアポイントメントを取るようにとのこと。小児科医と会うまで2ヶ月も待たされたから、状況が変わり無意味な診察だったのか、今診てもらう事で無駄な検査を避けらたからよかったのか。どっちなんだろう。今日は11.4Kgで身長は90Cm。

写真は「アラタが自分で積み木したよ！」とタカラの3本目の歯。（左上の歯）

Takara liked to cuddle himself up to me. He is often like a cat. He comes to put his head against my breasts and enjoys the feeling of rubbing it. Or sometimes, he lies down on the floor on his tummy and waits for us tickling him.

We took Arata to St Peter's Hospital to see a pediatrician. His weight didn't gain for a half a year from November last year but he's started to catch up recently. His GP referred him to the Hospital 2 months ago. We were a bit worried about his condition at the time for sure. But while waiting for this appointment for 2 months, the situation changed. I'm not sure it was a good thing. I think it's no point to see a specialist so late. But on other hand, he could avoid unnecessary but painful medical tests. Arata weighed 11.4Kg, his height is 90cm. The doctor said he looked healthy and not worried but advised us to see a dietitian.

In the first photo, Arata has just built houses with blocks. In the second one, can you see Takara's 3rd tooth, top left, coming out?

2Y7M 46W0D キス魔 Kiss!

タカラはキスをするのが大好き。それも濃厚な！今に始まった事ではない。顔を近づけると、大きく口を開けて相手の口を食べようとするのだ。本人は、おもちゃを口に入れるのと同じ感覚なのかもしれないけど、私達はタカラの「キス」と呼んでいる。

面白い事に、Jasonにはしないが、かわいい女の子にはする。この前は年下の女の子、ルーシーちゃんがカーシートに座っているのを発見すると、満面の笑みで寄って行って、体を乗り出して、どうにか唇を奪おうとして・・・成功？かわされた？？

Takara likes to kiss, very deep kisses... When I put my face close to his, he opens his mouth wide and tries to 'eat' my mouth. He probably tries to put everything into his mouth, including my mouth!, but we call it "Takara's big kiss."

Interestingly, Takara doesn't do this to Jason. He does it to pretty girls, though. A couple of weeks ago, when he saw a cute baby girl, Lucy, he couldn't take his eyes off and kept smiling at her. He then approached her while she was in her car seat, leaned forward and managed to 'eat' her,.... kissed her... or did she manage to protect herself??

2Y7M 45W5D 初イチゴ狩り First strawberry picking!

かわのが遊びに来てくれたので、PirbrightのパブThe Royal Oakでランチ。（写真は２週間前。）その後

Crockford Bridge ファーム

へ。ついこの間も行ったが、ファーム入り口の大きな木の下はピクニックに最高。滑り台が一台あり、広々とした芝の上を子供達は駆け回る。おまけに、併設のガーデンセンターにはCostaコーヒーも。

今日はアイスクリームを食べながら休憩しただけだが、アラタはイチゴ狩りにも挑戦。上手にとれたよ！

Kawano came to see us. We went to our favourite pub 'The Royal Oak' in Pirbright for lunch. (This photo was taken 2 weeks ago.)

And then we went to

Crockford Bridge Farm.

We've been to this farm recently with my friends and their children.

At the entrance of its 'Pick your own' section, there is a slide for children and a big tree under which we can have a picnic. In the spacious field, children can run around but we can still see where they are. At the garden centre, they have Costa coffee as well. We went there today to have ice cream, but Arata did his first strawberry picking, too. He enjoyed it very much!

2Y7M 45W3D 自分でポティトレーニング Potty training by himself

ポティトレーニングは、子供がやる気が出てから始めると失敗が少なく、お互いのストレスも少なく短時間で成功する。子供によっては４歳ぐらいまで準備が出来ない場合もあるという事なのでのんびりと構えるつもりだった。ストレスは少ない方がいいから。

ところが、アンパンマンやトーマスのパンツが履きたくて、アラタが「自分で」トレーニングを始めてしまった。朝起きてパジャマを着替える時にパンツも「厳選」する。もちろん、わざわざ阻止するつもりはないから、「おしっこしちゃったらトーマスがかわいそうだからママに教えてね、トイレでしてね」と言う。

出来る時と、パンツのまましてしまって、「アンパンマンがハッピーじゃない」とか「トーマスがかわいそう」と私に報告に来る事が半々。たまに目の前でジャーっとやられると、さすがに怒鳴ってしまう。それこそ、ストレス度アップだ。

まあ、たいてい、朝の数時間パンツを履くと満足して、あるいは、私に「トイレ行く？」って聞き続けらるのがうざったいのか、自分でオムツに履き替えている。

外出時はもちろんまだオムツを履かせているが、わざわざトイレに入って、オムツの中にしたりする。これは覚悟を決めてトレーニングしてしまった方が実はストレスが少なくていいのかな？（写真はパーシーのパンツを得意げに見せているところ。）

The rule is the later we start potty training, the easier it will be. I want to wait till Arata is really ready because I don't want to pressure him. It's said some children are not ready until 4 years.

And I had no intension to start it now but Arata has started his own potty training! I suspect he only wants to wear underpants with prints of Thomas or Percy. It starts like this every morning... when he wakes up and gets dressed in the morning, he also picks up underpants and put them on. Of course, there is no reason to discourage him. I tell him, "You have to tell me when you want to go to toilet because otherwise Thomas will be unhappy."

Sometimes, he can do it perfectly. Often he can't. When he has accidents, he comes to me saying, "Thomas is unhappy..." I try to reassure him that that's alright. But when I happen to see him peeing on carpet in front of my eyes, I can't help but shouting.... Well, I have enough stress.

And after a couple of hours of 'nappy free' time, Arata decides to get changed. He takes off pants and puts on a nappy, all by himself. He's probably had enough 'play with underwear'. Or he gets annoyed by me keeping asking him if he wants to go to toilet.

When we go out, Arata has recently started to go to the toilet to pee, although it's still in his nappy, or occasionally properly done with my help. Is it time that I should be determined and complete the training? (In this photo, Arata is showing his 'Percy' pants proudly.)

2Y7M 45W1D おもちゃはいらない They don't need toys

今日も天気がよかったので、Woking Parkでピクニック。縄跳び、テニス、バドミントン、サッカー、野球とフル装備のりかさん＆私だったが、アラタが「道具で一緒に」遊ぶってことがまだ出来ないから、リリちゃんは退屈そう。リリちゃんを見ていると、アラタもあと一年もすると、「インストラクション」を理解するようになって、少しはゲームを楽しめるようになるんだなーってそんな日が待ち遠しい。

お決まりの、なんだかんだ言いながらも、最後には一緒に走り回って楽しそうにしていた二人。最近いつも思うけど、道具やおもちゃがなくても、自然の中で一番仲良く楽しく遊ぶのよね。

It was nice weather as well. We went to Woking Park for a picnic. Rika and I were equipped fully: baseball, badminton, tennis, football, jumping rope... but as Arata still can't play with his friends with equipments, Lilia looked a bit bored. She is a year older than Arata. When I was watching her, I started to look forward to Arata being able to understand "instructions" and play games in a year or so time.

As usual, towards the end of the day, they started to run around and giggle together. I am convinced again that children play better without any toys or equipments. They only need nature!

2Y7M 44W6D 10才若くても… Even if I was 10 years younger...

ハナちゃんに妹のナゴちゃん

が生まれたので一目見にイーリングまで。この姉妹、ハナ（英）ちゃん、ナゴミ（和）ちゃんという、羨ましいほど素敵なネーミング！

予測通り、ハナちゃんとアラタは全く一緒に遊ばない。ハナちゃんがちょっかいだしても、アラタは無視！目も合わせないで、黙々と一人遊び。なーんて失礼な態度！対照的にタカラはニコニコ愛想がいい。

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りつこさんは二人の女の子のママになり、私は男の子二人の母。一人交換しよっかなーんて話しにもなっちゃうけど、じゃあ、あと10歳若ければ女の子がほしいからもう一人産むかって？20歳若くても絶対にいらなーい。二人でも十分大変です。（2枚目はアラタカラが一緒にテレビを見ている写真。）

We went to Ealing to see

Hanna and her new born sister Nagomi.

Their parents have given them really lovely names, Hanna - using a Japanese Kanji with a meaning of England, and Nagomi - Kanji with a meaning of Japan.

As usual Hanna and Arata, 2 two-year olds, didn't play together. Hanna often tried to touch Arata but he ignored her. He didn't even make any eye contacts with her. How rude he was! On contrary, Takara was always smiley and friendly to everyone.

Hanna's mum Ritsuko has become a mother of 2 girls and I am a mother of 2 boys. We were jokingly talking about exchanging one of our children, to be a mother of one each sex. If I was 10 years younger, would we try another child to have a girl? Definitely no! Even if I were 20 years younger, I would not go for it! 2 is more than enough. (In the second photo, Aratakara were watching TV together.)

2Y7M 44W5D バージニアウオーターレイク Virginia Water Lake

ここ数週間、ファームでピクニックしたり、広い庭のあるパブでランチしたりが楽しみになっている。が、Wokingまでもが、昨日発生したフットアンドマウス病（口蹄疫）のサベイランスゾーンに入っていて、マスコミのヘリコプターが上空を旋回している始末。なんとなくいつも行く辺りを避けて、バージニアウオーターレイクへ行った。

車で20分程。久しぶりの夏日よりで人出も多かった。アラタはピクニックが大好きなので、屋外だとよく食べる。アンパンマンのお弁当箱に入ったお結びを二つ平らげて、「ダディみたいに大きくなる！」と言っていた。友達とピクニックに行くと、おもちゃなんかなくても何時間でも楽しそうに走り回っているけれども、今日は退屈だったのかなあ。久しぶりにバギーの中で昼寝していた。

In the last couple of weeks, we've been to have a picnic on farm or in open spaces, or have lunch at a pub with big garden. But consciously or unconsciously, because of the foot and mouth disease outbreak yesterday, we avoided our usual places and went to Virginia Water Lake. (Woking is a part of the surveillance zone and we saw a TV or newspaper helicopter hovering near our flat.)

It's only 20 minutes by car. As the weather was so good today, lots of people were out. Arata liked picnic and when we are outside, he eats very well. He finished 2 pieces of rice balls saying, "I will grow big like daddy!" When he goes to picnic with his friends, they keep playing without stopping, which always amazes me how well they can play without any toys! But he must have been a bit bored today. He fell asleep in the buggy, which is very very unusual!

2Y7M 44W3D ファーストシューズ First shoes

タカラは今日で10ヶ月！パタパタよく歩くようになったので、ファーストシューズを買った。クラークスのシューフィッターに測ってもらうと、サイズは3.5H(11.5CM)。Hは一番大きい幅の記号。タカラの足は甲高。日本では考えられないだろうけど、こんな小さい子供の靴が革靴で20ポンドもする。でも数ヶ月しかもたないんだよね・・・。

Takara is 10 months old! He can walk quite well now and I decided to buy a first pair of walking shoes for him. A shoe-fitter measured his feet and the size is 3.5H. H means he needs very wide shoes. In Japan, we don't (can't) usually get 'leather' shoes for such small children but we are in the U.K.! A pair cost 20 pounds although they are quite good made. But children of this age grow out of shoes very quickly, you know...

2Y7M 44W2D アラタの視線 Arata's eye level

私がいつも持ち歩いているデジカメの操作をいつの間にか覚えたアラタは、気が向くと、カメラの写真をスクリーンに映し出して順番に見ていたりする。どうやら写真も撮れるらしい。これはアラタが撮ったJasonと青いゴードン。ソファーが邪魔しているように見えるけど、アラタから見たらこんな風に世の中が見えているのね。

Arata can operate my camera. I didn't teach him. But he is watching. And he is trying out. He sometimes turns the camera on and watches photos one by one on the small screen. I didn't know he can even take photos! This is a photo he took. Daddy and Gordon, the blue tank engine. The foreground is taken up by sofa but from his eye level, probably the view is always like this.