It's amazing watching this little person in our house learn about language.

Such fascinating development milestones to witness her learn how to express what she wants with different sounds and different emphases... learning ABCs and numbers... understanding what you say... learning few phrases or sentences and then singing.

She turned 21 months old this week. This past 2 months was all about learning and fun. I'm thrilled that she's always willing to learn. She's more like cooperative everytime I put her to nap in the afternoon. I don't know why she's always hyper before sleeping.

I just uploaded these videos recently. All taken at the same day. She was 19 months here. Enjoy watching =) We're always like this (been our routine before sleeping)...

Learning the ABC


Learning the ABC sounds and some words...


Recognizing illustrations


More videos
Baby Sleep Now 1
Baby Sleep Now 2
Anzu Saying I love You
Anzu Saying I love You


Hey Azumi, could you tell us how can we get to the library?



We're actually putting effort of raising her be a bilingual kid (multilingual if possible). I've been speaking to her in english while everybody speaks to her in Nippongo. I hope it will turn out fine coz some people think it will only confuse her, switching language every now and then.. Do you find this a good method or should we try something else? Advices are much appreciated.. Thank you, as always.

Have a nice weekend =)

Having a baby in a different culture could be challenging and surprising, and so as being married to a foreigner. You never know how deeply ingrained your culture is until you live in a different country or marry a foreigner. But then all would end up so well when both of you are willing to adapt.

I didn'T have a hard time adjusting since I've been going/living here for quite a long time. When we got pregnant to our little bundle of Joy, surprisingly I discovered that there are still more customs and traditions that are so new to me. One of these customs is gift-giving which seems to be important to Japanese. The gift giving is a major custom and sort of a social duty or obligation with gifts being given on special occasions. The emphasis is not on the gift itself but on the art of gift giving, so nothing to worry about expensive or inexpensive gifts.

When Azumi was born, we received gifts from Hubby's relatives and friends, my mom's inlaws, neighbors, and some friends. Most were given in the form of cash enclosed in a special envelope called Oiwai Bukkuro ( お祝い ).

This gift giving itself called Go-shussan Iwai. (shussan literally means childbirth)


Special envelopes called Oiwai Bukkuro .. Oiwai (iwai) literally means to celebrate or to congratulate.



Go-Shussan Iwai is the gifts for healthy newborns. The gift is usually given a week after the babies birth and is usually things like clothing, toys, memorabilias, and/or cash.

The cash we received is quite surprising for me. If only I could give birth every year I will.. --lol just kidding.

October 8, 2008 at 7:31 pm, our little bundle of joy came out to join us in our world.

I remember how unprepared we were during the day my doctor asked me to stay in the hospital when it was supposed to be one of my regular check up. I spend the night alone because visitors weren't allowed to stay in until 8pm. I thought I was lucky that I won't go through the labor pain because my water bag has already broken during the day and still didn't feel anything. I felt the twinge of pain at exactly 9pm and the contractions continued til the next day. The pain was bearable not until 1pm. Fortunately for us, we have amazing family who jumped in at moment’s notice to cheer me up and give me courage. The abundance of calls, emails, and just general well wishes from my relatives and friends has been overwhelming and truly inspired me.

Here's the greatest thing happened to our lives..


Life has indeed changed more than we thought. I became a selfless and a better person. No one in the world could have prepared me for how much love I have for this little person. She's the greatest thing ever happened in our lives.

Those 23 hours of labor pain turned out to be the sweetest pain the moment I laid my eyes on her. Giving birth to her is the most memorable, unforgettable, and wonderful experience I've ever had.