T told me that he needed to go PooPoo！！！Yay!!!

T slept from 10pm to 7am without waking up this morning... This is what I call pleasure! What a difference this makes to my moods.... He is almost 2 and a half and he still wakes up on average 2-3 times a night. AND he doesn't fall asleep until it is 9:30 or something on days he naps even a half hour!

I am a person that needs a LOT of sleep. I have been sleep deprived for almost 2.5 years and it really gets to me. It is especially sad now that he doesn't nap on most days. It means I don't even get to nap!

I have been struggling with this ever since he was born... But really, THIS is what a lot of parents get to experience??! Wow!!!!

Gymnastics class

T attended the trial session of a gymnastics class. He was at first not really sure of what it was and cried a bit but he soon recovered and started enjoying his class. He liked it so much so that he couldn't wait for his turns.

It allowed me to discover a few things about him - he doesn't really understand Japanese instructions yet... it is something he will have to learn. Also, he is not able to sit still/listen to instructions! Of course, he is only two and other kids in the class were unable to do. But I think it will be a great chance for him to learn some classroom manners. It is not super important right now, but he tends to be spoiled so it will be nice for him to get some practice...

All in all, it was a good experience for both him and me so I have signed us up for these classes. I am looking forward to next Thursday.

I am currently visiting my parents in Kobe and trying to relax while having a 2 year old hanging off of my arm...

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Kobe earthquake that devastated this city. It is hard to believe it has been 15 years already and I was only 14 when it happened.

It is interesting what your senses remember because this morning, it smelled like the morning of the earthquake - the breezy smells, chills, and everything.

I am glad that we were all ok - and I am hoping that I never have to experience such disaster again.

My dear friend S and her family moved out of Japan, back to the Netherland, this morning. It is hard to believe that they are gone - so much so that I have looked up their house on the rental property website to make sure it is true.

I am really going to miss them and I cherish all the friendship she and her family have shared with us. I wish them the very best and I am so hopeful that our path will cross again in the future.

Husband and I had a really hard time picking anything out for Christmas presents last year that we had decided to buy ourselves a Wii. They are very addictive and they are a lot of fun, but I have decided to give some of the exercising programs a try. I have tried EA Sports one and I would like to try the Wii Fit too. Apparently I can rent the balance board from Tsutaya, so I think I will give it a shot!

Guilty moments as a parent

There are moments in each parent's life when you doubt how you parent your child. I am in midst of one of those...

I have this park friend who is very knowledgeable as to what classes are available for the little ones. Yesterday she told me that she is going to try calling this kindergarten to enroll her son into their pre-school program. This preschool is offered for children who will start kindergarten the next school year. This particular pre-school will start in APRIL 2010 and it will be once a week for an hour.

The thing is, this kindgarten is very popular - they teach music and gymnastic and all that jazz, so the parents are all over it. They offer 70 spots for 3 year olds to be enrolled, and out of that 70 spots, 50 are offered to those who already have a sibling in their kindergarten OR those who attended this a fore mentioned pre-school. For the rest of the children, 20 spots are available... Just as an example, there were 50-60 kids who applied for this kindergarten last year and there were only 20 spots... You can see how this can be overwhelming... You have to fight for a spot for a 3 year old? Are you kidding??? But this is not the case.

So, naturally, the pre-school is very popular because it will make you more advantageous in getting one of the spots for the kindergarten. Apparently, this morning, they were trying to fill 7 spots for the pre-school. So my friend has called and called at 9am sharp, as if you are trying to get an ACDC ticket, and she won one of these spots! Amazing!!! But at the same time, it puts a little bit of doubt in my mind as to what I am providing for my little T.

I kind of half-jokingly call at 10am and of course all spots are taken.

Now I wonder if I should have tried, or should enroll him into pre-schools in other kindergartens... I am digging up the phone number for the gym class offered for these little children...

It is a bit crazy in my mind, but at the same time, I want to offer nice things to my little T.

But I think carefully....

He is TWO!

Ok - I am going to go for a trial at the gym class because it is something he enjoys, but really, he is TWO and doesn't know the difference between "good" kindergarten and those who let him play as much as he wants!

Long story short, parenting can throw you all these weird moments...

Congratulations to A&M

My babygroup friend just gave birth yesterday. I am so full of joy for the new arrival of their baby boy. We have known them since T was 3 months old - He and their first boy were born on the same month.

At least the new boy was born in 2010. It is not too late for me to have a baby on the same school year!