Six months already ?!?!

Six months have come and gone in a flash. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over six months since Kiyomi’s been with us. I think I can speak for Kohji and I, and our respective families, when I say it feels like she’s just always been here. In early January, we had our 2nd last meeting with our social worker, which is a required 6-month report. Pretty painless and short, interrupted only by the arrival of a package from Nana, containing Kiyomi’s very own singing frog (apparently, they're not just for Christmas anymore).

I’ll admit, I haven’t been that good at updating regularly. To be honest, there hasn’t been a lot new and exciting. It’s winter in Canada – staying inside, sipping cocoa, skiing and snowshoeing, that’s what we do in winter. Singing frogs notwithstanding, we’ve been pretty much getting down to the business of hunkering down for the winter.

While she hasn’t tried snowshoing – or hot chocolate for that matter – Kiyomi has been skiing a number of times now and seems to enjoy (aka tolerate) the baby glider. There isn’t a tone of enthusiasm, nor are there any complaints, so we’re assuming it’s a somewhat enjoyable activity for her. On our most recent expedition, it was -17 outside, so it was quite the endeavour. All there was of Kiyomi was a nose and eyes peeking out from underneath layers of clothing and two sleeping bags. Most people who peeked in were able to see her toy monkey better than they were able to see her little eyes peeking back at them.

Waiting for the snow to fall, we did head out for a morning at the Canadian Aviation Museum. If you’re looking for a place to let your kids run wild, this is it. A big open hanger, with huge airplanes and tons of room to run, run, run. Kiyomi took little interest in the planes, but she did like having the space to test her new found running skills. She especially loved making friends with a couple of older girls who seemed to take an interest in her from the get-go. Before we knew it, they were fast friends, giggling away together.

This past weekend, we headed out to the wilds of central Ontario for the annual Lumina Lodge excursion (after spending some time in Thunder Bay in my formative years, I refuse to call Algonquin Park northern Ontario). It was a small, but hardy, group this year with only us and the 3 Ms. The star for Kiyomi was Mika, and the two girls once again proved that you can have a ton of fun with a … scarf. If I had only known, I wouldn’t have bothered with the whole toy thing and given Kiyomi a box of scarves. A good time was had by all, although poor uncle Martin was suffering not only from a cold, but a mild overdose of Nyquil which kept him uncharacteristically in the cabin.

As for Kiyomi developments, well the words keep coming, as does the coordination, or at least a reasonable facimile thereof. She probably has a repertoire of 3 dozen words, and seems to be learning more and more everyday. The coordination is amazing. She can now climb a step stool all on her own and has been working rather earnestly at jumping. She still climbs everything in sight, but with much more confident and stability now. We’re not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing – one of us is still trying to ensure that she never takes to rock climbing.

Another interesting development is a greater interest in cuddling and hugs. While she’s been acquiesing to hugs when asked for a while now, she has started in the last couple of weeks to initiate hugs and want to cuddle. It’s heartmelting and will make either of us stop in our tracks to be on the receiving end of one of those hugs. Kiyomi has also started to ever so slightly ‘make-strange’. Not an unexpected development at her age, but for those of you who know anything about adoption, it is one of the last milestones to knowing that there has been a firm and stable attachment.

All and all, we’re starting to get glimpses of the little girl inside the baby, and it’s thrilling, frightening and a wee bit sad all at the same time. She’s outgrowing her clothes, getting taller, rounder and working at growing-up, and we can’t stop it (although sometimes when we’re pulling all 25 pounds of her in the baby glider, we sure would like to)! There is, alas, no stopping time and as thrilling as it is to see her learning and growing, there is always a little good-bye to the baby she was.

As for upcoming events, well, the biggy is on February 18 – Chinese New Year. This one promises to be a fair bit different than last year. There is so much to celebrate this year, that we’ve decided to have a party with our travel group and have a little family celebration in honour of the year of the Pig.

The parting shot for tonight is of one of those rare Canadian creatures... the elusive purple snow bunny. Good night from Ottawa.