We are fortunate enough to have had a kid in the middle of a bit of a baby run among our friends. The benefit is that we end up getting a lot of hand-me-down stuff. It's all in really nice shape and we are glad of the munificence of those who send stuff our way, so thanks Lila and Ysabel. We've also been able to send a lot of stuff down stream when Yuki has grown out of it. We hope you are enjoying it Nora and Rosemary.
Anyway, friends Jill and Ann bequeathed unto us some stuff that had belonged to their daughter Lila (Jill had to hide the plastic bag of clothes from Lila who referred to it as "My garbage!") and among many delightful pieces (including a Vespa t-shirt) was this:
"... like some cat from Japan ..."
A toddler David Bowie shirt. I'm kind of speechless. And it's "Ziggy Stardust" era Bowie which makes it even weirder. And funnier. Or maybe it's just me.
Anyway, Yuki has been rather busy lately. Though she still calls every animal "Trixie" and still barks at birds, she is learning to imitate animal sounds when we read books. Her vocabulary is expanding, too. She loves airplanes and shouts "hikohki!" (which is Japanese for airplane) whenever one flies overhead, which is often.
Enjoying some crazy "hikohki" ride from pal Gillian
(aka "Nora's mommy")
She also loves blowing kisses, saying "bye" when she leaves, and shouting "Mama!" when Mimi comes home. She also shouts "Mama" when I come home, but I'll take it. We realized that one of her first words ever was "Trixie" which we thought was kind of sweet. When we pull into the garage after being out, she starts saying "Hi Trixie!" in anticipation of the dog inside. And Yuki is finally tall enough that she doesn't get whacked in the head by Trixie's tail.
18 months. 32 inches. 25 pounds.
Head size off the chart they use to measure 3-year olds.
Oh, and the other day she came home, walked over to the counter, pointed and said very clearly, "Banana." She then ate the whole thing. Mimi was moved to comment that it's really so much easier when Yuki uses the words for things.
Kiddo is getting better at feeding herself with utensils. She occasionally insists on drinking water from a cup that does not have a lid. She can navigate the couple of low stairs in front of our house without any hand holding and we've started taking walks without her stroller so she can toddle along with us and the dog. And she has finally developed an affinity for stuffed animals. Two in particular. Brobee and Pooh.
"You can have my stuffed animals when you pry them out of my -- HIKOHKI!"
Brobee (from "Yo Gabba Gabba" which I will leave you to discover on your own if you don't already know it) is her bestest pal. She will not go anywhere without him. We even gave him a special spot in the bathroom during bath time and Yuki puts him there every night before getting in the tub. He has a button in his hand that makes him talk and sing, so we have to sneak him away from her in the middle of the night so she won't roll over on him and kick off a chorus of "There's a Party In My Tummy!" Winnie the Pooh (a gift from my nephew, Ric) is her next to bestest friend. She loves to wrestle him and eat his face. It's charming in its way.
Immortalized by our friends' wedding photographer.
Nice shades.
She even knows a couple of Japanese songs that she's learning in daycare. I fear I am falling down on the job of teaching her English because I am so enamored of hearing her speak Japanese. Although she has mastered "No."
Comments
Judy
As are hikohki rides of the pictured nature. Challenges for all!
xo
Gibs
ps- Stella had the flu this week
Gibs - Pooh's alternate name is "Cousint Ricky." Yes "cousint" with a T on the end. It's a long story that will interest nobody but me and the original Cousint Ricky.
Amy - we have already given serious thought to a backup Brobee. Mostly in case this one gets lost. And she has already thrown up on it and I spent the better part of an evening shampooing it until the smell came out. We hope Stella is feeling better.