一歳になりました！！Yul's Birthday (very belated)

悠流は一ヵ月半程前に1歳になりました！！！このビデオは誕生日の日のビデオです。なぜかオーディオがビデオより遅れてるけど楽しんでください。

意外とブログ書くのが大変だ。親・友達に一人ずつメールするより簡単だと思ってブログ始まったのに、書く時間がない！！パソコンだすとユウルがやってきて、キーボードを叩こうとするのが一番困るだけど。

現在は出張で3週間ほど米国に来てるけど帰国して次の日にちょっと広いアパートに引っ越すからちゃんとした、ユウルの見えないテーブルの上にPC置くつもりだからもっと定期的にアップデートするつもりです。

このポストのしたの方に2月以降の動画をリンクしてるので、観ていなければ、観てくださいワシの可愛い子！

I'm hoping everyone has already seen this on facebook, or somewhere else.

We haven't given up on the blog, I guess we just didn't realize how hard it would be to post entries when there's a one-year old running around!!

It's been a month and a half since we took this video, and he's much more mobile now. I (paul) am on business am in the States on business at the moment, and have been away from Yuki and Yul for two weeks now, but Yuki tells me he's up and running around even better and faster than the way he was before.

We're going to be moving the day after I get home from this trip, to a much bigger place, so there will be lots of room for him to run around and enjoy himself. We're also going to have more rooms and furniture (!) , and hopefully a table on which to permanently set up the computer, which has been one obstacle to trying to blog with a little boy who loves to bash the computer whenever he sees it.

anyway, enjoy yul's birthday (even with the delayed audio), and look forward to his next uber-cute video/pics!

some more new(to the blog) videos:
parks during golden week
bobsledding
alone with the camera
popsicles and strawberries
aDOORable
yul at ten months
yul the boxer
yul in january

From a Cafe with Free Internet

It seems that the winter is over already here in Osaka, although it never really got started. It only snowed once, and I only noticed it below zero once or twice. It's been up around 10ish for a while now, with lots of rain and some thunderstorms. I guess now begins the run-up to the dreaded Osaka summer. I suffered through the three summers that I have spent in Japan so far, and none of those were in places as hot and humid as I'm told Osaka is.
I know those in Canada don't want to hear me complain about how hot the summer is going to be; I've checked in a bit on the weather over there, and it does not look nice. The only nice thing about Canadian winters is that the insulation in houses and buildings is so good. They mostly use small space heaters or air-conditioning units here, and turn them off at night. So, even if it only goes down to 5 degrees, compared to minus dozens in Canada, inside your Canadian house is much warmer than inside my apartment when I wake up in the morning.
My three-month training period at work finally ended and I went to my actual desk at the start of January. I haven't introduced my job yet, other than to say it's at Panasonic, so I'll go into a bit more detail. I work on the Europe/America Marketing Team at System AV Business Unit, which produces cameras, monitors, and other broadcast and professional video equipment. You can see our products here or here. My responsibility is going to be doing marketing and sales for the lower-end product line-up to the North American market. Even at the lower end, though, they are very expensive and complicated products, not your simple camcorder or point and shoot camera. I've been studying a lot about the technology and workflow involved with the equipment, and I can tell easily that it will be quite a while before I have a good handle on it. It's interesting, though, so I'm looking forward to being more conversant about the products. Right now I'm borrowing a camera and shooting footage of Yul at home. I'm hoping to have time to edit a short video at work on one of the pro systems and post it online.
Yul is growing up fast. Just two weeks ago Yuki and I were talking about he was not crawling yet, that he always went in reverse when he tried. Well, now he can crawl. Fast, forward, causing lots of trouble for Yuki when she's alone with him. He loves playing with things he shouldn't, like wires and the VCR. It's alright when we're both around, but it's impossible to watch him and cook, do dishes, etc at the same time. And he can stand up by himself if he has something to grab on to. I find it amazing that standing, something he couldn't do two weeks ago is now something he does all the time, and can stand for tens of minutes at a time when he wants to. One thing he doesn't seem to interested in is eating solid food, though. He doesn't like mushed rice, pumpkin, apples, whatever we've tried to give him. Just this week, though, he's been eating these baby candy that we got as a free sample. They're kind of like Corn Pops, except not as sweet, and they get soft very quickly in your mouth. He's been going through them like candy, but still doesn't seem interested in much else.

Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとう！

Hello everyone, just wanted to write a short note to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone and let you know what we've been up to lately.
I've been in Osaka living in the company dormitory for the training period at work, which lasts three months. The first month was studying about the company's history, policies, various laws etc, the second month was working in the factory which makes the products which I will be selling, and the third month was working in a small Panasonic shop, basically a local electrician. I've come back to Nagano for the New Year holidays, which last from Dec. 27-Jan.4, and then Yuki and Yul will be moving to Osaka the weekend of January 10th. My department and location has been finalized, and I know I will be working in Osaka at least for now. The company has some very nice apartments in a quiet, suburban area, but the type of room we like is all full right now, so we've rented an apartment near the office to live in until a room opens up.
I was only able to see Yuki and Yul about once a month, and was surprised every time at how much Yul had changed, especially this time. When I last saw him in November, he didn't do anything by himself: he would laugh or reach for something if you put it in front of his face, but he wouldn't look for toys on his own. Now he looks around to see what toys (or remote controls, or cellphones) are nearby, and then pulls himself towards them. He hasn't quite figured out crawling yet though; he can lift himself up on his hands and knees, but always ends up just sliding backwards. I'm sure he'll have it all figured out soon.
We'll be having a nice, quiet New Years here in Nagano with Yuki's family, we wish everyone a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a great 2009!

Paul

We'll finally be moving to Osaka after the new year; I'm really excited and worried at the same time. I went to Osaka in November to look at apartments, the only time I've been in my life. It's a five-hour drive from my hometown in Nagano- so far...Although I have a few acquaintances who live there, I don't have any relatives or anyone in Osaka, so sometimes I worry about what we will do if we need help sometime.
But I'm looking forward to it, and know we're all going to do our best for Yul!

Yuki

久しぶりデス！みなさんメリークリスマスそして明けましておめでとう☆
１０月からパナソニックに入社したので、ポールは一足先に大阪に行って会社の寮に住んでいました。最初の一ヶ月は本社で会社の歴史と理念や法律などについて勉強しました。２ヶ月目は自分の扱う商品の工場へ行き、最後の一ヶ月は小さい町の電気屋さんで研修しました。今は年末年始に長野に戻ってきています。１月９日から由紀も悠流も大阪に引っ越してきます。社宅のの一番希望のタイプの部屋は今いっぱいなのでそのタイプの部屋が空くまで会社の近くのマンションに住むことにしました。
この３ヶ月間、由紀と悠流に月一回ぐらいしか会えなくて、毎回悠流の進化にびっくりしました。１１月に最後に会ったときは自発的には何もしなかったけど今は自分の周りのおもちゃをチェックして取りにいきます。まだハイハイはできないけれど、後ろには何故か進みます。今一番のお気に入りはテレビのリモコンです。

ポール

年明けからとうとう大阪に引っ越すことが決まって、楽しみだけど同時に不安でもあります。この前住む所を探しに生まれて始めて大阪に行きました。実家の長野からは車で５時間！！遠い、、、。大阪には親戚も誰もいなのいので何かあったときにはどうしたらいいんだろう、とか考えちゃいます。知り合いは少しいるけど、、、。
これから大変だろうけど悠流のためにも頑張らねば！！と思っています。

ゆき