6 months and some days

This last month has been crazy busy. I was going to post a picture of Kumiko in her high chair, covered with rice cereal, but I can't find my digital camera cable to download the images. In fact, I can't seem to find anything because I still haven't unpacked everything. Yes, we moved.

And I LOVE our new apartment. It's supposedly only a couple of hundred more square feet compared to our itty bitty place before, but it feels like it's three times the size. There's a skylight in the kitchen. Hardwood floors throughout. A spectacular view of the city, complete with the Space Needle.

The picture above is from the almost weekly playdate. The three kids virtually ignored each other in the beginning -- we started to meet about four months ago -- but now, they're totally fascinated. They paw and pull and tug and sometimes I think they're even talking amongst themselves. The girl next to Kumi is Aya, who is only a couple of weeks older and the boy on the right is Barend. He's exactly two months older than Kumi. All three kids are so good. It's funny how at this age, every week makes such a difference developmentally but in a few years, the slight variations in their age will be completely insignificant.

It's great to be part of this little group -- the moms commiserate about the hardships of motherhood and share the joys as well. The kiddies get to try out each others' toys and will one day actually play together. We've lent each other various carriers, checked out kid-friendly venues, swapped info on resources. I've read and heard that the first year of motherhood can be awfully isolating but this group, my hubby and other friends have really made these last six months a much more social and fulfilling time than I expected.

Here's a shot of the babies in action:

There have been a number of milestones this month. Kumi now gets up on her hands and knees, and scoots herself backwards. Not quite crawling, but starting to get the mechanics. And she's definitely talking. She's been calling me "Amama" and she's mastered "hi" and there are random "Baba" and "Dada" sounds. I think "Avava" is the word for Daddy. Just as I'd feared, she hates solids. She's a breast milk only kind of girl and so far she's rejected every baby food jar on the market. I have terrible visions of having to go to her kindergarten to feed her for lunch.

The sleep thing has also regressed. What with multiple sicknesses, the move, and general excitement (her grandparents were in town the same weekend we moved) the beautiful long stretches of sleep have disappeared...I have come to the conclusion that I won't be sleeping for at least another year, so I might as well suck it up and go with the flow.

Well, it's bedtime for me. I've been reading "Goodnight Moon" for story time every night and my favorite parts are "Goodnight to the quiet old lady whispering hush" and "Goodnight nobody" with the blank page. "Goodnight nobody" seems like such an advanced concept for a child to grasp -- I keep wondering when Kumiko will ask "What does that mean, Mommy?"

At any rate, goodnight internet.