A very friendly little girl!

12 1/2 months

Well, it's been a busy week over here. We visited a few parks with the Mom's Club and Thomas. He had a very busy time with his new birthday present, a truck that he can use to walk. He toddled all over the place with that thing, ranging far and wide, on the grass, on the sidewalk, on the rubber mat. The other kids were very interested in it, too, clustering around, taking it for a spin themselves, helping him push buttons on it. Poor Thomas -- littlest one on the playground, didn't quite know what to do about all those kids. To tell you the truth, neither did Matthew and I! We settled on a "wait and see if there's blood or theft" approach. That meant we intervened only a couple of times to save our little baby from those big bad kids (haha!). Thomas could have used our help to save him from one in particular, however. A little girl we know, five days older than Thomas, was intent on giving him kisses. Very cute pictures on the next or previous post!

We also had a "turning the car seat around" ceremony. Now that he's over twenty pounds AND one year old, he can sit face-forward! We are hoping it will calm him down a bit because sometimes he can get quite distressed back there. So far so good. I think he likes looking at where we are going and what we do in the front seat, so it keeps him occupied. Sometimes he points out the window and says, "ah!" which usually means he sees a truck.


We had a Thomas birthday celebration for Matthew -- which basically meant we had my friends over for cake and made Matthew babysit. I sent out a text and was quite touched that several people came! It was great to see them again and catch up over cake and blue jello. This time I made a bathtub cake with a duck, in honor of Thomas' first word, "duh!" (by which he means "duck"). Thanks to Michelle again, for finding the directions on the internet! She finds the neatest stuff!


And as a very belated birthday present, Matthew and I went diving at Epcot's Living Seas on Sunday. Mom and Dad were kind enough to babysit Thomas while we got into the tank with all the fishies. They hung around the observation deck and looked at all the fish while Matthew and I got wet-suited and briefed and followed the divers behind the scenes to the tank. It was very exciting to be backstage where all the Disney divers work and then march in wetsuits out across the floor! I felt like a rock star arriving at the airport with my entourage! Flashbulbs, people eyeing us curiously, parading down the hallway. And then in the tank, we saw lots of fish and endangered turtles, got to peer in at the diners at the Living Seas Restaurant, and wave to Mom and Dad and Thomas and everyone else at the picture window! I just started waving to everyone. And they waved back! Pics on the website next week!


Oh, and remember that last week Thomas had a problem with his arm and started favoring it? We went to our pediatrician, got it x-rayed, screaming Thomas on the x-ray table, then a miracle and it was ok again? Well, it happened again. He's not using his left arm again. We don't even know how it happened. One minute he's holding his train getting his diaper changed, the next minute, he's crying and his arm is limp. So we have an appointment on Tuesday with a osteopathic pediatrician -- or is a pediatric osteopath? Anyway, hopefully he'll be able to get the arm working again and have some answers about what it is and what to do about it! Thomas seems okay, just a little fussy from time to time and content to sit in one spot with his toys, which is very weird to see him rooted to one spot instead of roaming all over!

Well, must dash, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Utaka and Shauna are coming down from Gainesville, so it will be seven of us for dinner tomorrow! I’m very excited. Menu: Turkey; stuffing; cranberry relish; sweet potatoes; italian broccoli salad; green beans; pumpkin and molasses pie for dessert. Yay!

12 1/4 months old

Well, Thomas' birthday celebration went pretty well. Three of my friends came over for dinner and cake with Mom, Dad and me. One of my friends was running late so we took pictures of Thomas with the cake before dinner, and then more pictures, and then ... well, there was a lot of noise and activity and it was just too much for Thomas. He cried. In the end, he didn't even want cake. But he got some beautiful presents from everyone: beautiful clothes, a children's book about airports and airplanes, a cute monkey, and a dump truck with blocks. Thank you, everyone! We had a great time chatting around the dinner table, and at times we laughed so hard we woke up Thomas. Sorry!

For the past four days, Mom and Dad have been down in Plant City at Boot Camp, learning the intricacies of some of their dances. They came back for one night on Saturday night, the night Matthew returned home from his trip. This trip was pretty short -- he wasn't even gone for two whole weeks. He expected to come home in the early afternoon, but his flight leaving Toledo was delayed due to snow so he missed the connection and he ended up arriving after 10pm that night. Darn that airline! Who was that, anyway? Oh, was it Northwest? Oh, well, I guess everyone makes mistakes sometimes .... Must forgive and forget, haha! Matthew says he met a couple of my coworkers as he came in, and it was nice to hear about them. I had just seen a few of them the night before at an informal wedding reception. Mom and Dad babysat, and Thomas did not want milk from a cup or bottle. Does this mean that the weaning process will go easier than I expect? Wouldn't that be nice!

Thomas' understanding is progressing quickly. When we say, "Where's the airplane?" he points and looks up (even when we're in the house). When we say, "Close the door please," he closes the door of the cupboards that he has opened! He's also started clicking in his African dialect again, after months of nothing! He's also developed this funny smile that looks like he is trying a little too hard to be social. His eyes squint, his cheeks bulge, all six of his teeth are bared. And diaper changes, after a wiggly relapse, have become quieter affairs. Thomas can quite easily push buttons on his LeapFrog or his "cellphone" these days, so these are very helpful in keeping him occupied on the table! Another tool that sometimes keeps him quiet is the baby-hypnotism. Sometimes, I can get him to be quiet by getting in his face and talking or singing very quietly, and he gets this kind of wide-eyed, vacant stare. I'm tempted to continue with, "you are getting veeeery sleepy" or "when I snap my fingers, you will cluck like a chicken" -- but he doesn't even know what a chicken is yet!

A couple of days ago, Matthew was putting a very wiggly Thomas into his cardigan so that we could go for a walk (it was cold! 55 degrees!) and suddenly Thomas stopped and started crying inconsolably. We noticed that he was favoring an arm, and cried whenever he tried to use it or put weight on it. We decided to ask the doctor to check it out, and thankfully she had an opening in an hour and a half. She sent us to get it X-rayed. They took four X-rays in the end and it took two technicians and Matthew to hold him still enough to take the X-rays. I sat outside on my hands listening to Thomas scream as if banshees were after him. It was pretty harrowing for all of us and one technician said to us later, "you have one strong little boy there. He's going to be a football player!" I remember the nurses giving him a blood test and also the nurses delivering him said the same thing! I guess he DOES NOT like to be held down! Anyway, after all that struggling, something must have popped back into place because his arm was as good as new. He could crawl and hold things, and he started smiling again! What a relief! Even the doctor was happy it all worked out so easily! When Mom learned of what had happened, she admitted that the same thing used to happen to her regularly when she was a child. I guess Japanese blood isn't completely superior! Ha ha!

One year old!

Today Thomas is ONE YEAR old! How time flies! With all of the things that have happened, I can't believe that it's only been one year! It seems like a whole lifetime has happened in that year (oh wait, yes it has!). Thomas is developing so quickly these days. He now cruises around holding furniture for support, can stand up and sit down without using support, stands unaided for several seconds at a time, claps his hands, rolls balls, gives us five, and holds up his arms to be picked up. He is very interactive and I can see his personality more and more clearly. These days he is really getting the hang of what we are saying to him, too. He responds when we ask him to close the cupboard doors, or tell him that it's night-night time, or teach him something new, like holding up one finger for "one year old!"

He is getting better at communication, too. He can say a few words! Besides "mama" and "dada," he also says "duh" for duck, and sometimes "amama" for Grandma. This week he has started saying "nana" for banana! He has been getting a lot of bananas to eat these days as he will hold out for them. He really likes bananas and says his new word often. He can also do sign language for "milk!" This has come in pretty handy a couple of times already. Thomas has also started pointing at things to get his point across. He points at his drink, at people, at the cat, at a toy .... He also points at everything on our daily stroller ride with an inquiring, "aah?" Trees, plants, airplanes, and squirrels get pointed out but his favorite are cars and trucks. He holds his whole hand out to every one that passes us.

Mom and Dad have almost finalized the move-in date to their apartment around the corner. They will be in the same complex since it's so close to us (it's about a 5 minute walk, and about a 2 minute walk if you jump over a wall!), and it has a great racketball court that they use for their dance practice. They will be in the apartment next door to the one that they had last year, so they will have the same view and live in the same building! They have about another week until they can really be moved in. One more week and they will have their own space instead of living out of their suitcases and digging around in the garage where their stuff is piled, thinking, "Where did I put that thing? I'm sure that I brought it! Didn't I?" It has been lovely having them in house, though. Thomas loves to play with his Grandma and has developed quite a bond with Grandpa, too. Last night he cried until Grandpa comforted him and put him to bed! How great!

Tonight we are having three of my friends over for dinner and then we will eat cake. That is Thomas' birthday celebration! Michelle gave me a link to a website where you can make fun cakes, so I will make a "pig cake" since Thomas was born in the year of the boar. When we have his one-year celebration with Matthew, I am thinking I will have a little more time and energy, so I will make a duck-bathtub cake, since "duck" is his first word. They are so cute! Pictures of his birthday celebration next week!

Video: Thomas swinging

11 3/4 months old

This week has gone by very quickly again! Mom and Dad arrived last Tuesday after a visit with Utaka and Shuana in Gainesville. It sounds like they had a great time together, catching up and enjoying themselves and the weather. We made plans to see each other at Thanksgiving, so it will be another lovely family event!

Friday was Halloween. That morning we decided to go get ourselves some pumpkins and photos in the pumpkin patch down the road. Pickings of pumpkins were slim as were smiling photos of Thomas. He just wasn't relaxed and happy in this new orange environment. We did manage to squeeze a few smiles out of him at the very end though. Then we quickly carved a pumpkin for trick-or-treaters later that night, dressed Thomas up in Aladin's Jaffar costume we found at a resale store, said bye-bye to Mom and Dad, and Matthew and I ran off to a Halloween pumpkin-carving party. It was six adults and it took me quite a while to get my "Mom" head off and my "normal person" head on to enjoy the party! Once I did though, I had a great time with Matthew and the others, mixing and mingling, carving pumpkins and watching Rocky Horror! We stayed out until almost midnight, I think! Wow! Just like a couple of normal people. It felt great. When was the last time we had done that? We couldn't even remember!

Mom and Dad are having a grand old time with Thomas. Mom showed Thomas how small things can fit into big things. Now he likes to take Old MacDonald and Duck and fit them into one of his cups. A few days ago at breakfast, instead of eating his Cheerios, he started putting them back into the container! He has also figured out how fridge magnets work. Last time when we visited Mom and Dad, which was about three weeks ago, Thomas could take all of the magnets off the refrigerator onto a heap on the floor. Now he can put them back onto the fridge! Unfortunately, sometimes he misses or gets the fragile magnets, so that is why my California fish has a couple of glue-spots and Gromit is missing a head.

Thomas is getting very adventurous! He laughs with glee when I swing him on the swing at the playground and Mom and I take him for "horsie" rides! He shrieks and hangs onto our shirts while we gallop around, and now he bounces at just the right moment to send himself even higher. When we stop, he bounces for more!

He is starting to eat pretty consistently which is a great relief. Today for the first time he sat on Mom's knee at the lunch table and ate parts of her onigiri "rice ball" and miso soup. He looked like such a big boy! When did that happen? What happened to my little one? (wistful sigh) Anyway, every day his personality and his likes and dislikes start to show themselves more and more. For example, he seems to really like taking bites himself instead of being fed by spoon. He will refuse food from a spoon but then eat half a banana straight from the skin! Sometimes I sneakily mush his real dinner onto the bitten-off end of a banana so that it looks like more peeled banana, but when he bites it, it's all his real dinner! Ha ha! What hilarity!