Cows and bears

It's amazing to think that we've now been home for three weeks. The time has flown by but at the same time it already seems like she's always been with us. She's tons of fun, and I'm sure every parent thinks this but she seems to be learning things so quickly!

Last weekend we took a trip out to the Central Experimental Farms just a 5-minute drive away. Kiyomi had a fun time having a staring contest with the cows (the cows laughed first), but she was a little unsure about the calves who were doing lots of mooing. It seems she's a no-moo girl.

Kiyomi's grandmother (Tamara's mom) joined us on Wednesday for a little Kiyomi visit until this Friday. As easy as Kiyomi has been on us for the most part, it's been very nice for these two first-time parents to have another set of hands around, especially for Tamara's first week on her own. Plus Kiyomi's been having lots of fun with Nana saving some of her biggest smiles for her. It also means that Kiyomi's earned a few new nicknames. She's already called "baby", "cutie", "stinky", "boo", "the destroyer" and perhaps a dozen others, and now she has added "Muckaroo", courtesy of Nana.

Kohji started back at work this past week and while it was hard for him to leave every morning, it made things a little easier having pictures of Kiyomi at work. The picture appearing here is the one he has on his computer and he says it makes him smile every time he looks over. It is hard for him though, as he feels that he's missing out on so much every day - not only spending time with her, but all the new things that she learns every day!

For example, this week, she started standing on her own for long periods of time. She can't pull herself up to a standing position and when she realizes she's standing she starts falling over, but if she's got something in her hands to distract her, she can stand on her own up to a minute at a time.

She also learned to play peek-a-boo. We had previously played a game with her where we cover our heads and say "Where's Mommy", and she pulls the blanket down to reveal us and we'd say "There's Mommy!" (thanks to Jen & Rick for this game!). We also occasionally put the blanket on her - "Where's Kiyomi" and she would pull it down and we'd say "There's Kiyomi!". Just this week she started putting the blanket on her own head and pulling it down. It cracks her up.

She's also started being able to walk holding only one of our hands. She also started clapping, and just a couple days ago she learned to get up to a sitting position from lying down. Tamara's mom has been laughing at Kohji because he wants Kiyomi to slow down her advances - she's growing up too fast!

We're also discovering that Kiyomi is likely destined to be a Southpaw. She reaches for most things with her left hand and pretty much feeds herself exclusively with her left hand. I guess Ned Flanders will have one more customer for his Lefty's store...

On a final note, Kiyomi has also taken to a little bear named Elton. We introduced Elton to her about 10 days ago and he's now become an important part of her bedtime routine. She gives him a few kisses, and then likes to cuddle some part of him as she falls asleep. It's nice to see her make a comforting friend, and above all....it's very cute to watch.