Our new hangout

Aloha. A lot has happened in the ten days since I posted last. The big news is we went to the Doctor for our nine month check-up. Since we have moved we're starting over with a new Doc and Momma and I were a little worried we'd get a dud but Momoka's new Doc is wonderful. No knock against Army medicine but I think the Navy has a better system and, quite frankly, better people - my opinion only. The Doc was so nice and very gentle. As you'd expect Momoka was very interested in getting the stethoscope out of the Doc's ears and into her mouth. Babies.

The check up went great and Momoka is growing and thriving. She remains in the 95th percentile for weight but has caught up considerably in length and is now in the 75 percentile. Momoka still does not crawl but is more interested in walking. The Doc said never fear, she was developing well and told us that some babies just don't crawl. Momoka has always hated to be on her tummy so maybe she'll just go straight to walking. She is already standing and hanging on to and scooting around anything she can get her little hands on. Overall the Doctor's visit was a real plus and Momma and I are glad we've got a great baby Doc for this tour.

Momma found a baby play class and she and Momoka have been going during the week. Momma and I take Momoka on Sunday for a family play date. The class has age specific activities and all kinds of fun toys for babies and small children. The place has been great for all of us. Momma has met some other Japanese moms there and has quickly made friends. Momoka seems to really enjoy the other babies and the activities. Favorite - bubbles. Not so favorite - parachute play. I like the class because I get to spend some time with the family.

Here's some pictures of our gal during a recent Sunday play date . . . . . . . .



Climbing around on the toys is fun Daddy!



One of my favorite activities is to wrestle around with Momoka. She seems to like it (generally) although she can get a little overwhelmed when Daddy doesn't quit when he should. One thing I like to do is turn her upside down (while supporting her head, neck and back). You can always get a grin which means you've got a great shot of those cute little teeth. Speaking of teeth, our gal got a new one for a total of five. Her right top tooth that sits next to her front tooth is now poking out. Five teeth! Armed and dangerous!

Update

Well, I can't believe its been almost a month since I last posted on this page. A lot has happened for sure in that time. When we got here we lived in a hotel for almost a month while we waited for our vehicles and household goods to arrive. Once all our stuff got on island we selected a house on the post I am working at. Nice place, nice back yard, fence, good neighborhood with lots of kids. Our house is newer and is almost the same size as our military house in Virginia. We're still unpacking boxes and probably will be until the holidays get here. Unpacking is a drag but unpacking with a nine month old is almost impossible. Maybe we'll get our house in order in time for our next move. All in all we're in a good place and things are going along great. We're digging the weather and the great scenery and are looking forward to no snow, ice or cold miserable rainy days.

The baby is changing and growing every day. We can't believe that in March we were flying back to DC with this very small little peanut who slept in a bassinet on the airplane. Momoka is growing into that next stage - mobility. She isn't crawling yet but is perfecting her technique at pulling up. Crawling is next, she just can't seem to get the arm and leg motion synchronized but I am sure she will soon. Then it'll be off to the races!

She is still eating well and really enjoys sitting in her big girl high chair and having some chow. We got her this great high chair made by a Euro baby company called Boon. It comes in an assortment of colors - we selected "princess pink" of course. Nice thing is it can be raised and lowered like a barber chair, is on wheels so it is easy to move to clean under and also has a "brake" which grips the floor and holds it in place when baby is onboard. She loves it.

We put Momoka's room together first and she has really enjoyed getting back in her big girl bed and having her stuff around her. While we were living in the hotel Momoka slept in a Graco pack and play. She didn't complain too much but it's obvious by the look on her face in the morning when she wakes up that her crib is much more comfortable. She was such a great little trooper during this move. She took all the change in stride and never really had a big meltdown.

Some other important new things . . . . .
- Quite ambidextrous with her hands and easily passes things from hand to hand. Grips small items between thumb and forefinger.
- Has taken to Baby Einstein videos. Baby Mozart is her favorite. She loves the puppets and especially the green dragon puppet (those who watch, know). There is a part where the dragon puppet sticks out his tongue and goes "blaaaaaah". Never fails to get a smile.
- Has developed some serious skills in navigating her baby car. She hadn't seen the baby car in two months but when dropped in took off going both forward as well as backwards. She is a hazard to mommy and daddy's navigation of the kitchen when she's driving.
- Has a number of new facial expressions and sounds. She is becoming more vocal using different sounds in different situations.
- Seems to be making the sign for milk when drinking milk. Momma has been trying to teach some sign language and milk was the first sign. When you are holding her and she is swigging on a bottle her little hand opens and closes like momma's does. She also does the sign when eating too.
- Is a little angel and such a joy to be around (usually). We love her to pieces. She is such a special little girl.

Here's some action photos from the last month . . . . .



Here's our gal at Genki Sushi. For some reason sticking out her tongue is no longer good enough. She has to make the "Peko chan" tongue. I started feeding her some whole grains of sushi rice during the meal and she loved it. She chewed it well too. Mogu, mogu, mogu Momochan!



Ahhhh, finally back in my big girl bed! You have to look close but you can see her right front top tooth sticking out. Left one is out too. Those four little front teeth are the cutest thing ever! You might also notice Momoka has slimmed down from just last month. Her little legs don't look like she borrowed then from the Michelin man any more.



Here's our gal in her big girl chair waiting for dinner. Her expression seems to be saying "Gee, I hope its something good and not the usual stuff I get". Save me BB - I need some tasty Yo baby and prunes from you!



Shortly after we moved in playing on a pile of packing paper with a sheet on top.



Here's our gal in her ducky bathtub. JJ gave Momochan a little rubber duckie when we were in Houston and she really liked (and continues to like) it. Everytime we see a rubber duck we'll pick it up and squeek it. Always gets a big smile. Momoka never really seemed to like teething rings but she sure has been chewing on the duckies as her two front teeth have come in. At first she wasn't too keen on the duckie bathtub but did like to crawl around on it. She finally started taking a bath in there right before we left the hotel. If you look closely you can see one of her many little duckies in her left hand.