Leo joined a “kindergarten” (this is the best translation for this, but it’s basically a 3-grade school for kids 3-6ish) and we have now regained a bit of free time while he’s there from 9am to usually about 2pm, but now Yuki’s gotten involved in the PTA, and I’ve gotten involved in some father’s group. She gets to practice event organization with other moms and gets to network quite a bit, and I get to do the same less frequently but on a larger scale. The father’s group organizes large events every couple of months and I typically volunteer for stuff related to cooking, and a couple of weeks back I helped cook and serve butter chicken curry for over 400 people.

So, new sets of challenges, but ultimately things are easier now. Since Leo’s almost 5 years old, we turn him loose in the park and don’t need to fret too much about him falling down. A couple of months back he managed to somehow walk into a wooden doorway and get a giant gash on his head and we had to take him in to get stitches, which ended up being the 3rd time he injured his head to the point of us needed to go see a doctor.

Joji is vastly different from Leo. “Every kid is different” really strikes home with this little one. He’s far more coordinated than Leo was, far less finicky in regards to falling asleep, but this kid’s language skills suck compared to Leo’s. New kid, new experience.