8 July 08

I'd invited Jo over for lunch so that she could have a look through some of Emily's 3-6 month things in case she could use them for Issie when she goes home to the Melbourne/Tasmania winter. She insisted on bringing the food herself, so it was nice not to have to worry about what to make. She also asked if Bettina could come as she wanted to see her before she went away for a few weeks, and I was more than happy to agree.

We had a lovely time for a few hours, and the babies were pretty well behaved. At one point we all swapped to give our little ones a taste of being held by someone else, and they seemed perfectly happy with that.

Emily's scheduled nap was disturbed by some horribly loud drilling from next door - I will be glad when they finish this week and the new neighbours move in.

6 July 08

It was very hot again, but also cloudy and therefore more humid. It makes me so feel so lethargic when it's like this. At least it reduces my appetite for stodge though.

We had been invited out again, this time to Sam and Mario's for tea and cakes. Sam also works at the embassy, and they had just moved from Azabu to Aoyama. Another swanky expat pad to make us feel like poor relations. Anyway, it was a nice social occasion and the whole gang was there with husbands and babies (except Sharon because they are in the UK on holiday at the moment). Nick finally got to meet James, his step-second cousin or something. We had to leave just as the party was in full swing, as it was time to get Emily home to dinner. As she hadn't slept for 6 hours, she got very upset while Nick was feeding her and took a lot of calming down, but she did eventually eat all of her peach puree and rice.

As it was Sunday, I went ahead with my evening run. There was a slight breeze - a bit like a hairdrier on its slowest setting. I did manage to complete the half hour and was surprised how well I did considering the conditions.

5 July 08

Phew! What a scorcher, as they say. It was about 30C in the shade. For the first time, we resorted to aircon in the living room, and what a relief it was, though I spent most of the time feeling guilty about the environment. We set it at the highest temperature that we could tolerate, but we have to think about Emily too. She is sitting up quite well now, though still wobbly when she's tired. She loves to sit on the chairs out on the balcony.

We couldn't stay holed up in our cool haven all day though, so mid-afternoon we took a walk over the JR tracks to Shibaura Island. This is part of a large reclaimed area and mainly newish apartment blocks, with some industrial areas as it's right by the bay. It was pleasant enough in a sanitised sort of way - rather like Limehouse or the Isle of Dogs. There are a couple of canals with landscaped walks beside them and at the end of the island you can see Rainbow Bridge curving off, and a monorail that looks quite fun.

We found a little cafe with nice wooden chairs and decking outside though unfortunately next to an expressway. It was actually a dog grooming parlour so the cafe is probably mainly for patrons. It even had a section on the menu for 'doggies', and playpens outside for them.

Later we discovered a nice-looking cafe that looked out over the canal, for another time. From outside you can take the Urban Launch across the bay to Odaiba, which we will try out later this month because we have an invite to a BBQ there from a colleague of Nick's.

3 July 08

Bettina and Tim and Tracy and Lottie came over for lunch. Emily was a gracious hostess and let them play with all her things. I'd already decided that I would get rid of the Bumbo as we just don't have room for it here; Tracy tried Lottie in it, but just like Emily, her thighs were too big for it! In the end, Tim tried it and seemed happy in it so I gave it to Bettina.

Tim was putting Emily to shame. He is two and a half months younger but already rolling onto his tummy and even making good attempts to crawl. He gets his knees underneath but doesn't have the arm strength, whereas Emily has been doing pushups for a long time but can't get the hang of the legs at all.

Maybe it wasn't the chair after all. I still had trouble with food today and a few tears and refusals, even of the banana. There are so many reasons why it happens that it's hard to isolate why. I thought weaning was supposed to be fun.

2 July 08

Hooray!We have smart bedroom furniture now. Those nice men from IDC even managed to deliver without waking a sleeping Emily. While she slumbered I also managed to assemble her new all-singing, all-dancing high chair. She's been difficult about feeding the last couple of days, and as I hoped, once ensconced in the chair the next feed went well. So much easier now I can face her, and can use both hands (as opposed to balancing her on my lap). It also means that I don't get plastered in gunk, though she still managed to. She really enjoyed banana, to Nick's delight. In order to get her to eat I have to taste a little bit from each spoon, and it's just occurred to me that will be a problem when we get onto meat dishes. Hmm.

We had carrot and pumpkin yogurt for dessert. There's a range of vegetable flavours available. Quite nice once you get your head around the idea. Vegetable juices are big here; they are mad for health foods and tonics, though they don't seem to have latched onto brown rice at all, strangely.

29 June 08

It seems that Nick is destined never to cross paths with James. We went to Bettina and Steve's flat for a brunch party, but James wasn't there, only Tracy. He had been detailed off to attend a full day first aid for infants course.

It was a really wet day, so we couldn't make the most of their decking area, but it was a pleasant couple of hours all the same, and we met some new people and I was glad that Nick got to meet Steve, who is very nice. Nick was cornered by a Romanian guy for much of the time, who was apparently a bit full-on and offering unsolicited advice on childcare. As often happens when we are out, Emily did something which she had not really done much at home so far and spent minutes at a time sitting unsupported. She was the oldest of four babies there so she had to compete for attention, perhaps.

On the train home we realised that she'd done a massive poo, and a big yellow stain soaked through her white trousers and onto the buggy pad as well by the time we got home. A fun evening of scrubbing ensued!

Though it was bucketing down I went out for a run for half an hour. Like a typical Brit I found it was actually very enjoyable being drenched; I always have the best runs in bad weather, and at least there were fewer people out and about to witness me puffing along. I felt that I might be able to increase the time up to about an hour, so I resolved to work my way up to it over the next few weeks.

28 June 08

After a messy 'lunch' (10.30am) for Emily,

we had an afternoon jaunt to Hibiya Park to make the most of some unexpected good weather. As always, the shopping crowds around Yurakucho station were hard to navigate but we were soon in the tranquility of the nearby green space; that is, until we discovered that there was some kind of open air talent contest being staged there. We kept coming across little knots of singers practising, and more annoyingly, a band doing a rather tuneless sound check right by the little lake.

Emily practised using her beaker, though most of the water ended up down her front.

We sat and enjoyed the fountain and the fish, ducks and turtles despite the racket, until an old man arrived on a bike and announced that the shelter we were sitting under was his house. I've no idea if he was serious or not. He was quite amiable though, and insisted on giving Emily a couple of strips of cartoon stickers.

Afterwards we went to the play area and gave her a go on the slide and the rocker, but she didn't seem to enjoy it much (but I did!).