Matthew`s first month

Most recent picture of Matthew Yoshiya taken on July 28th, 2011

Well time flies when you have four children.  Matthew passed the one month mark a little over a week ago and he is starting to put on the weight.  He is now over 10 lbs and has a strong neck.  He gets a lot of stimulation from his sisters and recently has begun to make smiley faces and some happy sounds.

Newborn babyness is a precious thing, and Yumi and I both want to enjoy it the best we can.  Yet there is the hard side of it all, staying up late and Yumi breastfeeding or holding Matthew round the clock.  And don`t forget Cana is also breastfeeding too. 

There certainly is never a dull moment.  Those moments are called necessary rest breaks!

I was not able to be home for Matthew`s first month.  I was in the hospital (more details) and was not able to help with the kids.  Finally after two weeks I am feeling able to help where it is needed.  However I still need to be careful and not overdo it or I may find myself back in the hospital again.

Matthew is one month old and we hope that he stays healthy and strong in the months to come.  There are concerns over his tear duct which often is clogged and of course radiation is a major concern as well.

We are living in an area of Japan which is borderline safe.  It is not as bad as other hot spot areas in Chiba but it 4 to 5 times higher than the normal level.

But for us life continues on and we must cherish it while trying our best to be wise and safe with our children.

Trip to the Zoo

We took a trip to the zoo a little before Matthew was born.  It was kind of like the last trip with just the girls.  We went in the afternoon and avoided the crowds and spent a couple hours walking around and watching the animals.

The great thing about Chiba zoo is that you can get quite close to the animals and there is enough variety to keep the children entertained.



The giraffe`s head is just a few feet away as I took this picture of it eating grass by the fence

The girls are just a couple feet away from the giraffe.  You can see their shoes, the red ones

They don`t have the more agressive animals like the rhino or hippopotamus, or predatorss like tigers or lions though, but the usual big guys are there: elephants, giraffes, gorillas, and the like.

Ultimately the zoo reminds my children that the animals in their books are real.  In suburban Japan there is not a lot of exposure to wild animals, so the only thing you have are the pictures on the ABC charts and in books. 

It was fun and only took a couple hours to see most of everything.