Since we already had a comparatively grandiose birthday party for Mio last Saturday (on which I will post soon, I promise!), we went low key for Mio’s actual birthday. During the afternoon, though, Mio and I took a trip over to the park to have a birthday picnic and playdate with Mio’s friend Sofia. Sofia is Mio’s best friend in the neighborhood, but she couldn’t make it to Mio’s birthday party so it was nice to celebrate together! Here are the cuties among some bubbles I blew for them at the park!
Adorable Sofia trying to catch the bubbles!
So serious, the both of ya!
One year old Mio with Mama
Birthday girl among the bubbles.
Love these girls!
Thank you Sonya for taking these adorable pictures! 🙂
It’s a strange feeling to look back on this year — in a sense, it seems like we’ve had you in our lives forever, and yet at the same time, I find myself stunned that it’s already been a year, wondering where the time went. I’m reminded of the quote, “The days are long, but the years are short,” because that’s exactly how it feels. Each and every day seems to move slow, but when I take a step back and reflect on the collection of those days, it seems to have flown by. As a new parent, there are so many moments when I was just in survival mode, making sure that I was getting everything done, that it’s difficult to find a moment to drop everything and reflect on the now and savor the present with you. But on this special day, on your first birthday, I’m going to sit down and do just that.
As I look back on these past twelve months, my heart is so full that it feels like it is going to burst, and tears spring to my eyes. It has been such a joy to watch you grow and reach all of your milestones. Since you were born, life has been more joyful, more trying, more delicate, more scary, more fulfilling and more breathtakingly beautiful. You’re like a rose-colored lens that shows us this world in a new, fresh, and different way.
Mio, before I met you, I was just breathing. Inhaling and exhaling. I didn’t realize it, but I was. Of course I was content with my life alone with your Daddy, just the two of us, and was comfortable in it. But then you came along, and showed us just how much more love we were both capable of. We are everything we were before, but better — deeper in our convictions, stronger in our passions, more devoted in our journey together for a happy life. We’ll never forget those moments when we first met you and we all stared at one another — you gazing up at us with those big, chocolate eyes trying to make sense of your first blurry vision of the world, and us trying to wrap our brains around the fact that this pink little person lying on my chest was equal parts both of us. Our little girl, our responsibility, and the beginning of this very real and often daunting journey. Now I savor every moment with you. I breathe you in and squeeze you tight, knowing that before I know it, you’ll be wriggling away and running off. I love watching you play, watching you learn, watching you grow.
I have so many wishes, hopes, and dreams for you, my sweet daughter. But, the most important hope I have is that you always know how loved you are by me, your Daddy, and your family. I am in awe of who you are and who you are becoming, and so thankful for the mother you’re making me.
When you smile at me, you light up my entire world. You are my brightest sunshine and you complete me, and it was you who made me realize that I have always wanted to be your Mama. I love you for all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you’re yet to be. I love you to the moon and back, and feel so blessed and lucky to be your mother. You are, and always will be, the daughter I always wanted.
I love you with every fiber of my being, with every breath I take, with every beat of my heart.
Mio is one year old today! I can’t believe a year has passed already and I feel like I need a whole separate post dedicated to a reflection of the past twelve months with you… but for now, here’s the last of your monthly photos. It’s bittersweet to see this series coming to an end, but you can bet I’ll still keep detailed records of your growth — just no longer with you in your monthly onesie! (You are getting kind of old for onesies anyway!)
(I’ve been taking photos of Mio sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until she’s one year old.)
Stats: You weigh 2l lbs 7 oz according to our home scale (which is not the most accurate machine in the world), and you have stayed relatively the same in weight for the past couple months. A lot of people comment on how tall you are, though, and of course what an enormous head you have! You are in between 18 month clothes and 24 month clothes sizes now, and are wearing items from both sizes now.
Things You’re Doing Now: We can really tell that you are understanding what we are saying lately, as you’ve become a lot more responsive! When we say, “more?” you make the sign for the word “more” with your little hands. It seems that you have “bye bye” and “pai pai” (your way of saying “oppai”, or Japanese for breastmilk) confused, as when people say “bye bye” to you, you often wave and then sign “milk.” (lol) As always, you love your baths, and when we say, “ofuro” or “bathtime,” and sign “bath” to you, you sign it back and speedily make your way to the bathroom. When I say, “taberu?” and make the sign for “eat,” you immediately know it’s time to eat and cling to me so that I can take you to the kitchen to be fed — a food lover, just like your parents! While your verbal language is still limited to a couple words, using sign language has really opened up a fun new world of communication with you! You also nod a lot in agreement with us, and occasionally shake your head in disagreement at other times. You love going outside and will jump at every opportunity to step out the door when it’s open. You understand that you need your shoes to go outside, so you’ll sometimes pick them up and bring them over to show that you want to go out and play. Your appetite is also quite fierce these days, and you seem to always want more! I feel like your stomach is a bottomless pit sometimes and worry about overfeeding you, but it’s a great sign that you are healthy and growing. You’re an expert at walking now and hardly ever stumble. Lately, when I pucker my lips to kiss you, you lean your cheek over to help me plant my smooch! You often wrap your little arms around my neck when I hold you, and squeeze back with all your strength — they are the first hugs you’ve given me, and they are the sweetest! I could receive a hundred million of them and still never tire of them.
Mio is definitely not the girly girl I imagined our daughter to be.
I thought that she might share my love for dresses and accessories, but she puts up a fight when I try to dress her up in sweet little frocks (but seems to be fine with comfy sweatpants and hoodies), and she will rip out hair clips and headbands moments after I put them on her head.
Developmentally, she is also more of a boy than a girl. They say “girls are talkers, boys are walkers,” and it’s generally true. A lot of parents I speak to say that boys typically hit their physical developmental milestones with gross motor skills earlier than girls, like crawling and walking, while girls are more likely to be better with their fine motor skills (such as language and social skills) earlier on. Mio is an exception, as she’s been pretty early in major physical milestones like rolling over, crawling, standing, and then being able to walk at 10 months old. But she doesn’t have much of a vocabulary yet — she said “Mumma” a couple times months ago but hasn’t uttered it since, and will sometimes whisper “wan wan” (the Japanese baby word for “dog”, or the sound of barking) when she hears a dog, “bye bye” when she waves goodbye, and “pai pai” for when she wants milk (probably derived from “oppai,” Japanese for breastmilk). She says “Dada” with some frequency, but not necessarily directed at Dan but more as babbling when she’s playing. They say that children raised in a bilingual environment tend to start talking later, which may be the reason she’s not very articulate yet. We’re not worried and are happy to let Mio develop at her own pace, as long as she is healthy and happy! It was just interesting to see that Mio is much more developed in her physical abilities rather than in the verbal and social area, and we wonder if that is reflective of how she’ll be in years to come — will she become more of an athlete than an orator? We’ll just have to wait and see!
One thing seems certain, though… Mio is definitely aggressive when it comes to her personality. She has no problems with going to get what she wants, and pushing her way in to play with the older boys, like she’s doing in the photo below. I have a feeling she’s going to be Miss Bossypants!
Dan and I are definitely the more passive, conflict-averse softies, so we’re not sure where her aggressiveness came from. Although, I remember my mother telling me that when she had to put me in daycare for a few months as a baby, the caretakers would report back to her saying that I was punching and hitting the other babies and taking toys from them. I know what you’re thinking — “Baby Misono? Really?” I have a hard time imagining it myself, but I guess I was pretty fierce as a baby — the resident “mean girl” in the nursery. But my mother was just recounting that story to me again yesterday to point out that even the most tomboyish and aggressive babies can grow up to be the most feminine girls, and that Mio might surprise us by turning into quite the lady in the future after all.
Girly girl or tomboy, we love our sweet little Mio just the way she is! 🙂
My best friend Deborah is hands down the most fashionable girl I know, and she’s always spoiling Mio with the cutest outfits. Mio has been wearing the Missoni onesie that she got her for almost six months now! (Amazing that she still fits in it!) For Mio’s upcoming birthday, Debbie sent her these adorable DVF ♥ GAP outfits! I didn’t even know that Diane von Furstenberg was doing a collaboration with GAP, but leave it to bestest to be on top of such big fashion news! The clothing from the collection is super cute.
Mio is looking oh-so-sophisticated as a stylish fashionista in her new designer duds!
She has been climbing up on the gate lately, much to our dismay. Where does she get such strength and athleticism?
Asian lady squat!
One week away from turning one year old!
Rocking the DVF ♥ Gap onesie.
Complete with red shorts (from Miyoung)
Love the adorable print!
I love these “democratization of fashion” collaborations that are becoming more common these days! I couldn’t help but pick up a Jason Wu for Target dress for myself just the other day! (The whole collection had initially all sold out at our local Target, but I happened to go shopping a couple weeks later and found that someone had returned one in just my size! Lucky me!) Hooray for high fashion at affordable prices.
Thank you so much, bestest, for the adorable clothes for Mio! Thanks to Debbie, Mio’s the best-dressed kid on the playground! 😉
