Uncle Ted and Auntie Elisa came over and Mio got to play with everyone outside in the snow!
So much snow!
My Sunshine on a Cloudy Day
Mio is turning into more and more of a silly goofball these days! She’s always been a little unintentionally quirky and funny (as is apparent in the many embarrassing photos I’ve posted of her that she’ll likely resent me for in ten years), but she’s been starting to develop her own sense of humor and tries to crack jokes recently. Her latest favorite thing to do is to pick up objects and then suddenly hide them behind her head or her back and say “___ is gone!” (or sometimes in Japanese, “___ doko?!” meaning “Where’s ___?!”) and play dumb, as if it’s disappeared and she had nothing to do with it… and then she’ll whip it back out in front of her after a while and say “It’s here!” It was funny at first in a “Aww it’s her first deliberate attempt at a joke” kind of way, but the “gone” disappearing act has quickly gotten old and lost its charm as she does it at least twenty times a day with various objects, and we’re far from thrilled when she chooses to do it with food since it inevitably gets in her hair or on her clothes when she tries to “hide” it. Still, it’s endearing to watch her personality emerge even more and see her attempts to make others smile and laugh. Below are some fun videos I’ve captured of her lately…
Boppy Lion: “I am Mio, hear me roar!” (Yes, that is my breastfeeding pillow…)
Family Members as Cookies: Mio has this adorable toy cookie set that our dear friend Megumi gifted her when we visited Los Angeles last spring. She loves it and plays with it often, and we always encourage her to “share” the cookies with everyone. In the past couple months, we noticed that she has decided on a specific cookie for each member of the family, including her grandparents and aunt and uncles, and the cookies she’s assigned them never changes. It seems Mio’s carefully selected a cookie for each family member based on her perception of them. It’s funny to see how she sees each of us in cookie form!
Peekaboo with Wipes: Ever since the arrival of baby Mirei, Mio’s suddenly taken an interest in pulling out wet wipes and playing with them. Her favorite thing to do is put them on her face, for some reason… maybe because her skin feels dry?
Several parts of the country are currently getting hit by a winter storm, and our area was definitely not immune! We got over a foot of snow last night, and woke up to our cars buried and much shoveling to be done. Dan is working from home today and needless to say, the girls and I will not be going out anywhere for a while… good thing I have my own little miss sunshine with us to brighten our days!
Valentine’s Party at Preschool
Valentine’s Day is this week, and Mio’s preschool class celebrated today by having a Valentine’s party and card exchange. All of the students’ mommies were invited to come to have snacks and treats with the kids, and it was a fun chance to see them in the classroom setting and look at what artwork they’ve been creating.
I remember my favorite part about celebrating Valentine’s Day at school was making mailboxes and exchanging Valentine’s cards with my friends and classmates! Seeing all the Valentine’s cards that Mio received from her preschool classmates brought back fond childhood memories. Some moms are really creative these days with their Valentine’s!
It was really sweet to get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Mio this year, as she’s really starting to understand and appreciate seasonal celebrations these days. (She still hasn’t completely gotten over the excitement of Halloween and Christmas… lol.) I have a feeling that with Mio’s sweet tooth, Valentine’s is going to be right up there among her favorite holidays!
Two Weeks Old
Mirei is now over two weeks old! I’m feeling a lot more able-bodied these days, and while life with both a toddler and newborn can be quite challenging at times, it’s starting to feel a little more manageable now that a couple weeks have passed. Here are some photos of Mirei at two weeks old (along with some of Mio).
This newborn stage is so precious and sweet, and we are just soaking it all up because we know it’ll be over before we know it! Don’t grow up too fast, dear Mirei….
Two Week Doctor’s Visit
Mirei is 13 days old today, and she had her 2 week doctor’s visit yesterday. The doctor said she’s perfectly healthy! As is the case with most newborns, she lost some weight in the first few days after birth (she was 7 lbs 6.5 oz when we took her to the doctor Wednesday of last week), but she’s gained it back and is now heavier than her birth weight. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz at yesterday’s appointment, putting her in the 61st growth percentile based on weight-for-age.
She measured 22 inches long, putting her off the charts for height-for-age (though I’m feeling dubious as to how accurate the nurse’s measurements were, especially with how much Mirei was moving during the measurement).
Mirei’s head size was 14 inches (up a half inch since birth), which is in the 70th growth percentile based on head circumference-for-age.
The doctor said she’s “perfect” in terms of health and growth. I’m so glad that Mirei is off to a great start — she didn’t even have any issues with jaundice! (What a relief!) She nurses a lot without any problems, and sleeps surprisingly well for a newborn, too. The first couple nights home from the hospital were a little rough because she’d be wide awake from 1am to 4 or 5am straight, but we were able to successfully shift her more awake time by keeping her stimulated and awake in the evenings, before we go to bed. She now only wakes to nurse a couple times in the middle of the night and promptly goes back to sleep afterwards, making sleep a whole lot better for Mama and Daddy! 🙂
Here are some photos of Mirei in these first two weeks at home…
Some rare video of Mirei when she’s awake: