Mio

We just got back from our vacation in Maui on Saturday night, and have been getting adjusted to life back home. We have lots of photos and adventures to share from our trip, which we’ll post in the coming days. Mio just turned sixteen months old last Thursday, so I wanted to jot down what she’s been up to before I forget. 🙂

The Rundown at Sixteen Months…

Stats: You now weigh 23.4 lbs, and it’s been getting harder for us to hold you for extended periods of time because you’ve gotten so heavy! In the past couple weeks, your canines have started growing in, which means that you now have what looks like all of your baby teeth in.

Things You’re Doing Now: You’re not learning as many new signs lately, but are instead trying to vocalize what you are trying to communicate. Your favorite words are “ball,” “bubble,” “wan wan” (for “dog” – more accurately, it’s the Japanese word for a dog’s barking sound), “min-mi” (for “milk”) and “nen-ne” (Japanese baby word for “sleep”). You say “kko” when you see a cat and touch your cheek to illustrate a whisker on the face (the Japanese word is “neko” but you can’t quite say the first part yet). You’re starting to take an interest on parts of the face, and point to your eye and our eyes and say “meh” (“eye”), and point to your head when I ask you where your “atama” (“head”) is, and your ears when I ask you where your “mimi” (“ear”) is. And of course, you always say “hi” and “bye” to friends and strangers alike. You like to come over to us and say, “Dai~” as you wrap your arms around our neck, hugging us. (You can’t quite say, “Daisuki,” which is Japanese for “I love you.”) It makes our hearts melt every time! You seem to be more emotional and sensitive these days, as well as stubborn and independent. You are imitating a lot of the things we do lately, especially the things that involve taking care of you. You like to try to feed us your food, brush my hair with a hair brush, scrub my arm with a sponge in the bathtub, and try to brush our teeth for us. You also like handing us things, whether it be something practical (like the remote control) or something useless (like the gravel in the front yard) – you love to share. It’s really endearing and heartwarming to watch, because it shows that you are learning to think of others and are developing a heart of giving.