Mason Shoma

Every so often Daddy will let me sit in his chair and I just love it! I’m so happy to sit in a big boy chair! Not only does it make me feel important, like the big boss of a company, the chair turns! Such fun! That’s why people want to be the big boss. Then they can sit in their big chairs in their big office and turn around and around. Weeeeeeee!

I’m really into buckles nowadays. I find them fascinating. And they are everywhere on baby related things: booster chairs, car seats, strollers, baby carriers, bags, etc.. I think the way they lock is so interesting. I’m still working on trying to buckle things up on my own, but it is a bit hard for me to do right now. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon. Until then, I just love touching the buckles, chewing on the buckles, and examining the function of buckles.

The park we went to was in the city, but it was very green! The grass was very thick and soft. I had fun touching it and crawling on it.

Daddy tried to get me to play chase, but I didn’t like it. I thought he was just running away from me and didn’t realize it was supposed to be a fun game.

I enjoyed playing hide-and-seek, horsey, and jumping around more than chase.

We had a lot of fun at the park, but as the sun dropped in the sky and the buildings shadows grew longer, we knew it was time to go. But I have a feeling that we’ll be back. It was a nice spacious park with very nice grass. I think it will be a lot more fun for me when I learn to walk and run. Until then, I can enjoy the park the same way as I enjoyed our time there today!

Mommy and Daddy often went to different events before I was born, and one of their favorite types was craft beer festivals. They enjoyed trying craft beer from different breweries that normally wasn’t available at stores or restaurants. They hadn’t gone to a beer festival for more than two years. With it being Golden Week and with very nice weather, they decided to go to a nearby beer festival and I got to tag along.

Mommy and Daddy seemed to enjoy their beer, which is good. They deserve to treat themselves every so often. I enjoyed the snacks they brought along for me. I had some biscuits and a whole banana! The festival was in an area I had never been to before, so I also enjoyed the scenery. There were a lot of new things to see! I was quite popular with the strangers around us who kept smiling at me and commenting on how cute I was.

We all had a great time! The weather was incredible and I was very well behaved. We all enjoyed our treats, then we moved on to a nearby park.

I’m not completely over my cold and I still need a lot of rest. It is also really comfortable napping on Daddy!

Look at my fish! This is my Koi Nobori. They are flown around Children’s Day to celebrate boys. This will be my first Children’s Day since I was born just a bit after it last year. I’m glad I’m big enough to appreciate it. The koi (carp) are so cool. I love watching them swim when the wind blows! But I hear that Daddy is going to change the location a bit because they keep getting caught on the wall. I can’t wait to see them again!

I can be needy sometimes. After all, I am a baby. Mommy was going to get my breakfast ready but I wanted her to stay…and I wanted her to get my breakfast. That happens sometimes. When I’m feeling really needy I get confused and every once in a while don’t want to be held but don’t want to be put down either. This was that kind of moment. I got so needy that I accidentally pulled Mommy’s pants down.

Even when at home, there is a lot for me to learn and explore. I have a lot of educational toys that are helping me develop new skills. You’ve seen how quickly I became adept at putting the toy discs into the slot. I have very good fine motor skills that I developed with all of these different toys at home.

I also have an abundance of curiosity and the physicality that helps me explore new things.

I also have pretty good instincts that help me apply my curiosity and dexterity in a way that leads to understanding cause and effect. Today I learned more about the faucet in the bathroom. When I turn the lever, water comes out. Cool!

Just because I’m not at school today doesn’t mean I’m not learning.

Well, it looks like I got my energy back and for the most part over my cold. What a mess I made!

Even though I have a lot of thick wild hair, it can be tamed temporarily. When it is wet and combed it can be slicked down. I kind of look like a modern performing artist.

I tried melon today! Of course, I enjoyed it! So far I’m pretty much guaranteed to like new fruits. They are much sweeter than my normal food and I consider them to be dessert!

You can hear that I still have a stuffy/runny nose from my cold, but I’m feeling much better. Mommy had completely lost her voice and it is slowly coming back, but it is still pretty raspy. Poor thing. I’ll try to be extra good so that she doesn’t have to raise her voice.

I’m feeling much better. My fever is gone and I didn’t take any of my fever-reducing medicine. I just got better on my own. I think it was because I was a very good boy and slept a lot and took it easy during the day. I enjoyed playing with Obachan, who came over again to watch me while Daddy worked. But we mainly did quite play. We played with my toys, read some books, and took a bunch of naps.

Now I’m all better and ready to go to nursery school tomorrow! Oh…I’ve just been told that tomorrow is the first day of Golden Week and a holiday and that I won’t be going back to school until next week Monday. Oh, but that means that I get to spend three whole days with Mommy! Daddy has to work tomorrow but we’ll all be together for the weekend! Yay!

I haven’t quite worked out talking, but I’m getting close. I have distinct words (i.e. sounds) that I use to express different feelings and emotions. One sound that Mommy and Daddy have been hearing is when I am complaining. It is a kind of “Buwah buwah buwah”. Mommy and Daddy first noticed it in the car on long drives when I got bored and wanted to get out. Now I use it when things are happening that I don’t like or when I’d rather be someplace else.

Here, I am not happy that I don’t get to go to nursery school today.

I don’t let things like having a fever get me down. I’ve been in a pretty good mood today despite my 39.5°C (103°F) fever. I’m a lot more run down and tired, but I’m still able to play and have a good time. I can still smile even when sick.

I may have a fever, but it hasn’t affected my appetite at all. I am still eating really well. I even practiced feeding myself again today. I think I do pretty good for having such a large spoon. I hear that some babies like to toss their food around or play with their food, especially when they are practicing using a spoon. I would never do that. I can’t imagine wasting food!

We were getting ready for me to leave for nursery school when Daddy noticed that I was feeling a bit hot. He took my temperature and I had a 38.3°C (101°F) fever. Oh no, not again. Daddy called the nursery school and told them that I would not be coming to school today. He let Mommy know about the situation and got ready to bring me to the doctor’s again. Mommy asked Obachan if she could come over to take care of me while Daddy worked and she happily and eagerly said she could. Once all the plans for the day were set, off to the clinic we went.

I cried when we got there. I literally cried right outside the door before we even stepped inside. I don’t like going to the doctor’s. The doctor gave me a quick and painless exam, but I still cried a lot. I finally calmed down when we were back in the waiting room. We got my prescription and we were off to the pharmacy. I didn’t cry there. We were in and out very quickly since we had just been there a last week. Then we went straight home so that I could take my medicine, which was the same as last time. I took my medicine and after a few minutes in Daddy’s arms quickly fell asleep.

So the verdict was that I never completely got over last weeks cold. I had a runny nose pretty much the whole time and a cough off and on. My fever had gone away pretty quickly but then it came back today with a vengeance. My temperature at the doctor’s office was 39.5°C (103.1°F). Let’s hope the medicine does it’s thing and helps me fight this cold and fever. To be honest, I felt fine this whole morning. I’m a pretty tough and resilient baby. I was in quite a good mood and was very happy and playful. I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t go to school just because I was a little hot. But Daddy said it was so that I could rest and so that I wouldn’t get anyone else sick. Okay, that makes sense.