Kai's Adventure 200901

Happy Birthday Kai! 誕生日おめでとう！

Kai is exactly one month old today! Yeah! We both can't believe how fast he is growing and how much he is already changing. His personality is really starting to show and we can easily recognize his happy times and unhappy moments. The best thing is that now Kai is really starting to smile real smiles. We absolutely love it when he does that! Before, it was like one of the corners of his mouth would curl up; but now, he gives us genuine smiles. We can't wait until he starts giggling!

So for his one month birthday, we decided to take him out for a nice trip to Birch Bay for a little beachside strolling on a sunny day. Of course, this was after the inauguration event was over; we COULDN'T miss that! This was Kai's first introduction to American politics - AND WHAT AN INTRODUCTION IT WAS!!! OH WHAT A JOYOUS AND HOPEFUL DAY!!! But now I am off-topic so I will get back to it.

We knew it would be quite chilly at the beach so we bundled up Kai quite a bit - check him out:

Still awake (and looking mighty cute!)

Getting sleepy (but still looking just as cute!)
(For those of you wondering about the "Welsh Baby" bib - our friend spent Christmas in England and Wales and she brought this back as a gift for Kai. However, as Kai's papa DOES have some Welsh heritage, albeit just a little, so there is some truth to the bib.)

At Birch Bay, we saw something very fitting for Inauguration Day. A pair of bald eagles were hanging out in some nearby trees. Of course, Kai was asleep and missed everything. Good thing for cameras! Seeing the eagles made me think of everything we had witnessed this historic morning and being outside with my family in a beautiful setting just seemed to make it all that more special. I know, I know - I digress, but after the last eight LONG years, who wouldn't share my newfound sense of hope and enthusiasm!

A bald eagle
(Sorry for the bad picture quality - this camera is NOT well designed for animal photography!)

Sneaking in closer for a better photo

Once we got home, it was time for the usual baby stuff: a diaper change, feeding, burping, changing the diaper again, and then naptime for Kai. Here he is "getting ready" for some sleepy time!

Am I feeling sleepy?

No!
(Incidentally, he quickly fell asleep a few minutes later...)

Happy Inauguration Day everyone! Happy One Month Birthday Kai! Oh what a blessed day!

-Kai's papa

夜になると・・・

ここ５日間くらい、夜１０時頃になると、海は理由なく泣き始めます。２時間くらい続いたりするので、私たちも、何か良い方法はないものかと、毎晩試行錯誤しています。もしかしたら、今週からまた違った睡眠パターンになるかもしれないし、一日のうちの２－３時間くらいは泣き続けてもしょうがないかなとは思うけど、決まった時間に泣き始めるので、その時間がやってくるとちょっとドキドキしてしまう。それ以外は、海は昼間は大体機嫌が良いし、よく寝ています。そして、誰かが遊びに来ていると、とっても静かにしています。これも、今のところはなので、また来月になると変わるのかな。

Kai having a "moment"

Sleeping like an angel (finally!)

もう３週間！？

あっという間に、海が生まれてから３週間が経ちました。
２週目の健診も済んで、お医者さんからも海はばっちり体重が増えているし、健康ですよと言われました。よかったぁー。私たちは、小児科の先生に会いに行く度にたくさん質問を考えていくんです。一人目の子供っていうことで、やっぱり不安なこと、わからないことがたくさんあるから。二人目になると、心配することが、大分少なくなるんだろうけど。
３週間経ったし、お医者さんからもオッケーが出たしで、ついにおしゃぶりを試すことにしました。海は私たちの指をしゃぶることで、落ち着いたりすることがあるので、おしゃぶりがあるといいかなと思ったけど・・・。あまり好きじゃないみたいで、今のところはそれほど使えてません。しばらく様子をみてみます。

Kai and his first pacifier

Kai's finally here! (Sorry - this is almost 3 weeks late!)

Sorry it took us so long to post something - having a newborn is really time consuming! We WILL try to do better in the future!

Our son, Kai Aidan Sasaki, was born on Saturday, December 20th at 6:26 am! He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces (3317 g) and his length was 21.5 inches (54.6 cm). After a LONG labor (more than 24 hours!), we were VERY happy to finally meet him! The doctors let us know that he seems completely healthy - yeah! He did develop a little bit of jaundice, but that disappeared pretty quickly after we brought him home. So far, so good!

But enough with the introduction; we're sure you want to see photos so here they are!