Waiting for winter

I’ve been suitably chastised by a number of people for not updating the blog more regularly. To be honest, I’ve resisted posting because much of what’s been happening as of late has been the rather dull day to day activities of family life – which we love, but figured it would be pretty darn boring to anyone else. It would seem, however, that Kiyomi has some pretty die-hard fans out there (the gods love you), so here’s a rather lengthy update (or at least a lot of pictures).

November was a busy travel month. The weekend following the trip to Thunder Bay, we piled into aunty Laura’s car for our first serious road trip. A seven hour drive to see Nana, Zufu and uncles Brahm and Tristan. After dropping Kohji in Toronto, so he could surprise his mom on her birthday, Laura, Kiyomi and I headed south for London. Ready to hit the highway, feel the wind in our hair (figuratively), pushing for the home stretch, we headed straight into… Toronto traffic. Now, at the best of times, I am incredibly inpatient with sitting in traffic, as are most people. However, on my first road trip with a toddler, I was the queen of anxiety. Laura stopped counting the number of times I said I hated Toronto. Kiyomi, in the end, did way better than me. On the first sign of fussiness, we pulled out the magic toddler tamer (aka the portable dvd player). There were a few minutes of nausea inducing manoeuvering on Laura’s part to get the thing set up, but once it was rolling, Buzz and Woody worked their magic again, and kept Kiyomi happily giggling most of the way to London.

The London visit itself was short, but enjoyable. Kiyomi got to meet her Zufu and uncle Tristan for the very first time, as well as her great aunt and my cousin. She wasn’t too sure what the make of them at first, but started to come around. The highlight for her was a toy monkey that Nana gave her. It actually danced, gurgled and sighed. By the time we left, Kiyomi had found a new best friend (we’re not really sure whether she knows that it’s actually an inanimate object).

After London, it was a trip to Montreal for a weekend where Kiyomi and her friend Ella did the town right. Yup, wandered St. Catherines, checked out the train station, swam in the hotel pool and basically had the run of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. I tell ya, these girls know how to travel in style. They capped the weekend off with a trip to the duck pond on Mount Royal.

It’s a good thing that Kiyomi’s been travelling across the country so much. I mean, as one of Canada’s newest citizens, she has a responsibility to this country (or so Monty Solberg informed her in the letter that accompanied her citizenship card). That’s right, after less than 6 months, Kiyomi officially has full Canadian citizenship with all its rights and privileges. I know these things are all pre-formed, electronic signatures, and all that, but you’d think somewhere along the line, someone would clue in that they were telling a 1 year old that she needed to recognize her responsibilities of citizenship. Other than the giggle we got out of reading that, it was certainly nice to get the citizenship thing out of the way. We had been told to expect to wait a year, so it’s arrival only 4 months after we sent in the application was a treat.

In other exciting news, Kiyomi went for her first ski this past weekend. Yes, there is no snow in Ottawa, yes, there is no snow anywhere in Eastern Ontario. However, when you have a dad who is ski obsessed, apparently icy slush and wet ice qualify as skiable. I grumbly followed along, dubious of the whole enterprise. Kiyomi - other than trying to deal with her parents' obvious difference of opinion on what actually constitutes snow – seemed to take the whole thing in stride. She loved sitting in the Baby Glider while it was in the living room, but was a little less sure of the whole thing when it was actually outdoors trudging its way up hill (or rather being trudged up hill by Kohji). I volunteered for the downhill portion.

We have not also had our first taste of parent panic mode! Kiyomi has been going to a toddler playgroup and music class at the local community center, just a few blocks from the house. It’s been great, and it’s close, so I can usually make it there on-time and I have no worries about weather, traffic, etc. Kiyomi and I have developed a happy little routine that I was keen on continuing. This, however, required venturing into the cut throat world of child program registration. Last time around, I had gone forward in ignorance, although I had heeded the advice of friends to make sure I registered right away – as in "as soon as they started on-line registration" at 11 pm. Not having had any problems getting the programs I wanted the first time around, I figured the advice was a little bit reactionary, until… I started hearing things like: “You’re in the Music and Movement program? How did you get into that? I tried at 11:15 and it was all booked up.” So, it would seem toddler programs are about as coveted as U2 concert tickets (the last time I dealt with on-line chaos).

All this was the lead up to last Wednesday, where I started at 10 pm., to make sure I was ready and on-line as soon as they launched on-line registration for the winter session at 11 pm. I typed in the appropriate web address… I got a screen which started with the words “oops”. I tried again… same thing. I double checked the address… it was right. I tried again… and again… I tried another computer in the house… same thing. I tried again, and again, and again, for almost an hour. By this time, I was in full scale panic. On-line registration was about to begin and I couldn’t get into the website. I cursed the inventors of the internet, I cursed their children and their children’s children. I paced, I grumbled, I snapped, I picked up the computer to hurl in across the room. As I was doing all this, Kohji calmly picked up the phone and called Kenji to ask him if he was able to get in. While I curled up in the fetal position and lambasted every soul who ever contributed to anything having to do with the home computer and bemoaned the fact that I would now have to drive to Sittisville for toddler programs and would spend the rest of my year off driving to a variety of no-mans land community clubs and recreation centers, Kohji and Kenji were busy registering Kiyomi for the music program and playgroup at our local community center. And this was only toddler programs people!! Imagine what I’m going to be like for daycares, pre-schools and universities?!

Other than that, it’s been the regular winter scene around here. Kohji and I have each been doing our little snow dances, hoping for the white stuff and trying not to completely butcher our renditions of “White Christmas”. We've also been getting Christmas preparations under way. We were rather curious to see what Kiyomi might think of a tree in the house, but in typical toddler fashion, she didn't seem to see anything strange about it at all.


This year, of course, there have been new challenges, like figuring out boots, and snowsuits, and hats, and mitts. Kiyomi is indeed taking it all in stride, and seems to be reasonably happy in her snowsuit. She especially likes the ‘jump-test’ to see if her boots are on properly. We haven't yet told her that she looks like a giant purple grape with it on though, so we're hoping she doesn't figure it out.

Kiyomi continues to grow and learn, despite our wishes that she’d stay our tiny little girl. In addition to mastering most barnyard animal sounds, she has a few funky ones, like “ssss” for snake and “huh-huh” for moose. She’s started to insist on using a real cup and wants her own spoon at mealtimes. Her comprehension hit a high point for us, when it became clear that she knew, and said, “mama” and “dada”. As for words, she’ll parrot just about anything you ask her to, although she will often put her own spin on it. Her most fun activity of late it climbing. And this includes pretty much anything – the couch, the coffee table, the highchair, a box, the toilet. It’s all pretty much irrelevant as long as she’s on top of it.

In the next month we’ll have our first Christmas as a family, which we are all very much looking forward to. We head down to London for the Miller family celebrations and back to Ottawa for the Suzuki ones. We already know that the Christmas loot for Kiyomi is going to be overwhelming thanks to the arrival in late November of her first Christmas present (thanks Gene and Kristina). Next month, we have to undertake the 6 month post-placement review (as required by the agency). It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost 6 months.

The parting shot for tonight is one of Kiyomi with one of her best buddies – her 2nd cousin Lola. Do these two look like they've been caught in the act or what? Good night from Ottawa.

Kids as toys

Children can be a lot of work. So, it's absolutely necessary every now and then to relax by using them as toys and laughing at them.

Dancing Queen

Kiyomi's long been a big lover of music, and nothing gets her going like the oldies. Crank up the sound, and enjoy....

Ghosts and goblins and frogs, oh my!

Ah, that childhood right of passage. The first Halloween. The one where mom and dad dress you in a dorky outfit. Not for your enjoyment, as you can’t possibly remember it, and the costume makes you hot and itchy. And it's not so mom and dad can take numerous pictures to pull out when you bring your first boyfriend home to meet them (although there are a number of those). No, it’s all about extra candy for mom and dad!

Kiyomi, like so many other toddlers, endured the dorky costume, the humiliation, the camera flashes in her face, with grace and style, and headed out into a rather warm though damp night. Of course, she only made it as far as the neighbours - where the highlight was chasing their dog, Bandito – and scoring a few extra kit-kats for mom and dad (before you ask, they’re already gone).

While the trick or treating seemed to be met with tolerance at best, Kiyomi did seem to get a big kick of answering the door and dolling out candy. She looked on quizically when the doorbell went the first couple times, but by the end of the night, she had gotten the hang of it. Alas, we don’t really get many kids here, so it was limited fun. But enough to tire her out.

We also had a Halloween potluck here with all the families from our travel group living here in Ottawa and another family we know who were in the group just before us. That was lots of fun for all, and the food was amazing. You can’t go wrong inviting people over to dinner, and then asking them to bring the food. While it’s hard to tell, I can’t help but think that the girls are starting to recognize each other a little. At this age, there isn’t any real interaction, but there seems to be less clinging to parental units. In fact, the last couple times they’ve gotten together, they seem to be happy having the run of the house and have there own little games going. We’ve especially noticed that Kiyomi likes to follow Hailey around (that's Kiyomi in the black cat costume). They are 2 days apart, and have been buddies since China.

This past weekend was Kiyomi’s first trip to see the family in Thunder Bay and her first trip on an airplane as a toddling toddler. We were a little worried that she would object to sitting for so long, but the miracle of Toy Story II and a portable dvd player prevailed. She met her great grandmother, my aunt and uncle and some cousins. She had a great time. Nothing is better than being the only toddler in a room full of attentive adults. However, the highlight was the 3 dogs – including poor Calash, who patiently allowed the Kiyomi-beast to poke, prod, hug, lick and pretty much continually accost him. That is the most patient dog I have ever seen in my life.

As for developments, Kiyomi’s vocabulary comprehension seems to leap ahead every day. We figure she's probably up to about 30 words. In fact, she often surprises us with what she actually understands. You can ask her to go get her Animals book and bring it to you in the kitchen, and she’ll actually do it! She doesn’t actually have any words that she uses herself, but she is perpetually mimicking sounds and has learned a couple of signs. Interestingly, the one she is the most proficient with is “more”. Nothing like food as a motivator. The five ‘words’ that she uses consitently are "cat", "dat" (as in "what's dat?"), "ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya", “uh-oh” and “mooooooooooooooo” (yes with that many o’s).

Her latest tricks are interesting to watch. She loves opening the drawers on the coffee table, taking out whatever she finds and dropping it on the floor. Unfortunately, she's not so good with the putting stuff back and closing the drawers. She has also expanded her climbing abilities and now regularly summits her high chair. We're considering getting her a climbing harness for around the house.

It would seem that Kiyomi has also learned that she, in fact, has a mind of her own, and in the last few weeks has discovered the power of objection. Yup, she now knows that it is not necessary to do everything these people want me to do. And even if it has to happen, she figures she can go out swinging. I’m not sure who told her she had a mind of her own, but it wasn’t our idea. Getting dressed in the morning is now about a 20 minute process, as her prefered outfit is buck naked. Generally, the trick is getting at least the diaper on before she pees on the floor. This week alone, there has been two trips to the shower to hose her down after failed attempts.

There has also been a recent growth spurt and she no longer fits in clothes for 6-12 month olds. She now needs 12-18 months, and has even moved a size up in diapers. Oddly, for clothes and diapers she seems to be sitting in-between sizes. The smaller size seems to be too small, but the larger one seems a little big on her. We’re going with big and rolling up cuffs and sleeves.

The parting shot for tonight is a wee bit traditional, but a good laugh! Good night, from Ottawa.

The great leaf hunt of 2006

Thanksgiving... the time of year when all number of strange creatures emerge from the woods and onto lawns, covering the fading green grass and taking over lush green space. Luckily for us, we had professionals on the job this Thanksgiving, and while there was no actual raking done or anything like that, those nasty leaves sure did get an earful from Mika and Kiyomi, the greatest leaf hunters of all time!



Cousin Mika came to stay with us this Thanksgiving (oh ya, her parents and grandparents came too), but really for Kiyomi, it was all about Mika. The girls met for the first time, and Kiyomi got to spend time with uncle Martin and aunty Miyo too. The house was full, and we all loved it. We ate well, laughed a lot and many, many, many… many pictures were taken. The weather was phenomenal - warm and sunny everyday. Excursions to Mer Bleu Bog, the Experimental Farm and the Farmers' Market were interspersed with a never ending stream of games, dances, and general merriment coming from the girls.

Kiyomi and Mika got along famously (or at least as well as a 3 year old and a 1 year old can expect to get along). Mika tried to teach Kiyomi a few new things, and treated us all to wonderful performances from Beauty and the Beast (complete with princess dress and full musical score). Alas, we didn’t think to video tape one of these fabulous performances for posterity.

Kiyomi did show a wee bit of possesiveness. Not over us, of course, but over KT the cat. Anytime poor Mika tried to get near the cat, Kiyomi would barge in, stand in front, and pretty much plant herself, arms reaching out to the poor cat, and grunts espcading from her that had the unmistakeably tone of “mine”, even if the word sounded nothing like “mine”. Needless to say, KT was none too impressed.



Kenji and Aya (Kohji’s brother and sister-in-law) took charge of Thanksgiving dinner itself and put on a fabulous spread with a scrumptions… and ENORMOUS … turkey. Aya’s family also came for dinner, so there was a huge spread for 12 adults, 2 kids and a rather traumatized Nicolai the cat, who was likely much relieved when the Tasmanian devils known as "the nieces" left.

Other developments since my last post was a return trip to the International Adoption Clinic at CHEO, where all tests came back perfectly fine. Although we weren’t expecting otherwise, it was nonetheless a relief to have a clean bill of health confirmed.

The latest craze in the house is stair sitting. For incomprehensible reasons (to us anyway), Kiyomi loves just sitting on the steps. She only needs to go up a couple steps, and she’ll turn around and plonk herself down, and sit there happily for quite some time. She sometimes seems to be singing to herself, but it’s hard to tell if it’s song or babble.

Her babbling seems to get more and more elaborate everyday. No discernable words yet, but her babble has a great deal of expression and intonation to it. We have no idea what she’s saying, but it is obviously vital information and we’ve become convinced that she’s trying to communicate the solution for global warning, and occasionally rolls her eyes at us cause despite her best efforst, we just don’t seem to get it. Her comprehension seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, however. She can do all the regular toddler things like point to body parts, point to the giant giraff in our family room, nod and shake her head in response to some questions, which amazes us given that she’s only been exposed to English for 4 months. No way I’d be learning Mandarin that fast, that’s for sure!

She's also taking more and more to utensils, although we're not at the stage where she insists on feeding herself all the time. However, every meal seems to involve multiple utensils, and mutiple projectile-like food items. The cat has been very, very happy lately.

We’ve also had a few “bad mommy” moments. A couple weeks ago, she took a tumble at playgroup. When I scooped her up, she was in the middle of the ‘silent-building scream’, so I whisked her into the kitchen where she promptly bled all over her dress, my hand and the paper towel that I grabbed in a panic. Somehow she had hit her mouth, but with the crying, the blood and the drool, I couldn’t see where the injury was. Three days later (yes, you read that right, 3 whole days), I noticed a gash on her tongue that was exactly the shape and size of her 4 front teeth. We didn’t worry about it too much, as she didn’t seem to be having any trouble eating or drinking, but man, did I shutter everytime she stuck out her tongue.

The cure (or conversely the continuation of) these bad mommy moments seems to be Toy Story II. Not sure why, but she seems to love the scene where Buster the dog comes charging into the room (you’re all forgiven for not knowing this scene, as no reasonable person should be expected to have watched it a dozen times). She stares enraptured at the screen, barking her little heart out. Not sure if she thinks Buster is talking to her, but she’s happy.

On that note, I’ll call it a night, and put her to bed (Kohji’s been entertaining her as I write this, and I can here definite fatigue in his voice). The parting shot for tonight needs no explanation or introduction, it speaks for itself. Good night from Ottawa.

Busy, busy, busy...

Well, you've heard it said before, toddlers are 'busy, busy, busy'... and Kiyomi is no exception. It's been a busy few weeks around here. At least that's my excuse for not posting in a while and I'm sticking to it.

Walking is the word of the day. Now that Kiyomi has figured out how to walk, it's officially the preferred mode of locomotion. She pretty much walks on her own, and has left the crawling thing behind. Crawling now is exclusively reserved for playing. She's even started to master uneven ground - preferring to walk across the sand at the park. That said, she will still reach out for a hand when she's feeling a little unsteady and still spends a great deal of time on her butt as a result of falls. Luckily, the original mode of falling (i.e., launching herself backwards) has been replaced with a rather ungraceful butt-drop, but it's better for all.

Of course, she's also had a few head bonks - some traumatic, others nonplussed. The worst was when we were rushing out the door to go to the doctor for Kiyomi's first set of shots. I turned to put on my shoes, and then heard an ominous 'clunk' behind me, followed by silence. You know that eerie silence, the one where you know that when you look, you'll see a toddler with her mouth wide open, eyes shut, face all scrunched up as she prepares to release a blood-curdling wail that is specifically designed to convey not only displeasure, but a great big huge helping of guilt for mom who could actually allow something like this to happen. Yup, that one! Of course, it took awhile to calm her down, of course, we were in a rush, and of course, when she finally started to perk up, I plopped her down on a table to have needles jabbed into each arm by a strange man in a lab coat. Needless to say, it was a multiple cookie day.

Kiyomi's fascination with books continues, which has me pleased as a peacock. She now toddles over to her pile of books, picks one out, brings in to you, and says "ah". This, of course, is Kiyomi speak for "sit down, so I can climb onto your lap, and you can read this book to me."

Her understanding of English seems to be getting better and better every day. No words - other than the oft used 'cat' - but when asked "where's mommy?", "where's daddy?" "where's the giraffe?", she'll smile and point, and usually gets in right. Although I've been occassionally confused with the giraffe. She has also picked up a few fun tricks, like putting her hands partially over her eyes and looking at you to say "peek-a-boo" and then lifting her hands away and grinning or holding out her hand when you say "gimme five".

The most useful trick she's picked up though - at least useful for her - is the whine. Yup, our darling, quiet little girl has discovered that if she squeels at just the right frequency, her wishes will be granted. It's not particualrly high pitched, but combined with the finger point, it is rather effective. When she gets tired, she's even started resorting to the cry - real tears and everything. This culminated last night in a very strategic exit last night from a Chapters. We had stayed a little later than expected - although given my love of book stores, it wasn't that unexpected - so she was getting a little tired. Kohji was entertaining her with plastic dish set on sale there that she found particularly fun. So fun, in fact, that she decided she didn't want to leave and everytime we tried to take it away, she started to whine/cry. Knowing it couldn't be avoided, I paid for our books, we put on our coats and then we quickly wrestled the toy from Kiyomi's hand and ran! The result was the ominous silence described above, as she prepared to let us know exactly what she thought of our little operation. We almost made it out of the store before the wail commenced... but not quite.

She's also learned to shake her head vigorously when she doesn't want something, usually food. This has resulted in more than one spoon full of something or another on the floor, and the subsequent wrestle with the cat to prevent KT from gobbling down what hits the floor. The cat now positions herself rather strategically under the table for just such occasions.

We've also had some fun visiting lately with family down from London (uncle Brahm, my cousin, Aleson and her family). I got to meet Aleson's little girl, Macy, for the first time and she's a real cutey, with huge, sweet eyes.

A few of the moms from our travel group also got together for a playdate last week. It was great to see the girls and find out how they're all doing. They have all changed so much in just a few months. They've all gained weight, filled out, and are really coming out of their shells. I don't think they recognized each other, but we all agreed that it'll be great to get the girls together regularly - both for them and for us.
Included in the group was Kiyomi's little buddy from China, Hailey. Of course, at their age, buddies means the toddler whose toys Kiyomi was most prone to stealing. Kiyomi and Hailey are now almost exactly the same height, weight and at very similar stages of development, and it was a blast watching them 'talk' to each other.

The last couple weeks have also seen the start of a couple of organized playgroups and swimming lessons. Kiyomi likes the play groups. There's no actual interaction with the other kids, but their presence is enough to get her going. The Glebe Community Center play group is a riot, with every conveivable toy imaginable dragged out into this huge hall, where about 30 toddlers can happily go out of their minds. Kiyomi was particularly taken with a riding toy that she would push from one end of the room to the other, yelping every time she hit a wall to get me to turn her around.

Swimming has been a little less successful, but I suspect it's because the pool is too cold for her. The first lesson was great, and worth the price of admission to see the look of utter shock on Kiyomi's face when I kept dunking my head under the water and come up laughing. She didn't know what to think, especially for the last dunk when I brought her down with me. The pool was warmer at that first lesson though, and since, she's just found it too cold to relax, so she doesn't seem to enjoy it much. However, I still like going as Kiyomi's 2nd cousin (I think it's what she'd be), Lola, goes. She's 5 months old, and has this fabulous little smile, and seems to really like the pool.

The parting shot is another of Kohji's live action photography. You'll note that these pics were taken from her crib when she was supposed to be napping.

Of grandparents and hats

Well, I may have proclaimed victory on the hat front a little too soon. After a summer of struggles, Kiyomi has finally relented and no longer fights me when I try to put her sun hat on. I thought it was resolved, that I had finally convinced her of the wisdom of my approach... until I pulled out the winter hats... She no longer saw the logic in the idea of having someone on one's head. And alas, some of the tricks I perfected in getting her to wear the sun hat - like waiting until she was facing directly into the sun and then sliding the hat on to show her how much better it is with the sunhat - can not be used with winter hats in mid September.


Kiyomi may have won this initial round, despite the attempted bribery (with grapes no less), but I survive to struggle on another day however. Rest assured, victory will be mine in the end of these ongoing hat wars (if for no other reason than I can tie a knot in the damn thing if I have to). Of course, if getting a hat on is this much of a struggle, I'm more than a little terrified of what's going to happen when I try to wrestle her into her snowsuit!

Kiyomi had a great time this week visiting with her grandparents - Ojiichan and Obaachan. She learned some new songs and seemed to be always able to con Ojiichan into reading to her whenever she wanted. They seemed to see eye to eye on a number of topics and had some great little chats.

Obaachan taught her some wonderful new songs on the piano, and Kiyomi has found another willing adult to assist her in one of her favourite passtimes - banging the piano keys. Maybe she's the reincarnation of Theloneus Monk?


Kiyomi also had her first appointment at the International Adoption Clinic at CHEO. It was a rather lengthy appointment, and quite useful. She was a trouper throughout and managed to charm the medical resident and rather green med student who were sitting in. The only time she let out a peep was while they were taking blood. They seemed to take an awful lot of blood from her little body, but the nurse assured me it would be fine. I guess I must have looked like a typical worried mom.

The parade of faces also continues. She seems to find new and more innovative ones every day and loves trying them out on whoever is nearby. Her latest is lip pursing. Not sure how it started or what she's trying to convey, but she seems happy enough to get a reaction of smiles and giggles. What a ham! She cracks herself up I tell ya.

The parting shot for tonight pretty much gives you the idea of who holds the reins in this here family... and just to be clear, it's no one over 18... Good night from Ottawa.

My turn!

Last week, Kiyomi may have been showing signs of taking after her dad with all that climbing, but this week, it's all me baby! She's showing us her more studious and contemplative side. She has become fascinated with books over the last few days. On one or two occasions, prefering to leaf through her book rather than chase KT cat. You know if it beats out the cat, then it's held in high esteem. Grad school, here she comes (ok, ok, I'm getting a little ahead of myself). Those weekly trips to the library are paying off though.

We took advantage of the long weekend to take Kiyomi on her first road trip - or a facsimile thereof. We headed up to Mont Tremblant for the September long weekend - an annual pilgrimmage with some friends. Alas, it was a bit of a rainy weekend, but Kiyomi had a great time hanging out in the 'hot tub' - which was really more bathtub temperature - and goofing around with her buddy Ella. In fact, Kiyomi and Ella had the run of the place, and even managed to deliver some pretty command performances from the loft!

There was some general hanging out, and lots of playing and eating. We were a little unsure how Kiyomi would take to a new environment, but she settled in perfectly happily and even slept better than she does at home! Perhaps it was the several hours in the hot tub or the 300 or so trips up (and down) the stairs, but she slept like a rock every night.

Speaking of sleep, Kiyomi's peaceful nights have been a wee bit disturbed of late. It's not too bad, but everynow and again, she starts to cry in her sleep. We don't think she wakes up when she's crying, so we wonder if its nightmares. All in all, she doesn't seem any more tired the next day, so we're not too worried about it. Other than the fact that she looks pretty sad as she snorfles back into more peaceful dreams.

The parting shot for tonight is a classic - every kid has a spaghetti shot, and now so does Kiyomi. Good night from Ottawa.