Eleven months, eleven onesies.

A while ago I wrote about Kio's attempts at crawling; he was spending a great deal of time primed for action but going nowhere. I suppose that that's not entirely true, he did make some progress in reverse, but mostly he just rocked back and forth on all fours.

Since that posting, Kio has gotten his crawl on but it's not what I would call traditional. In fact, where locomotion is concerned, my son marches (or rather crawls) to the beat of his own drum. 

Here he comes...

 And there he goes...

Perhaps someday he'll be a mighty swimmer.

When he started his squeaky frog crawl, Shin and I figured that it was just a stage; something to get by on until he mastered the more traditional hands and knees version. 

Nope.

A month and a half later and he's still doing the squeaky frog thing, just faster. Seriously, the kid can fly (swim?) across the floor. 

By the way, I'd like to be able to say that the squeakiness is a testament to the cleanliness of my floor - trust me this is not the case. The squeak is all Kio.

On top of crawling, in the last month Kio has also 'mastered' the art of sitting on his own. On Christmas day I put him on the floor on his tummy, turned away for five seconds, and when I looked back he was sitting. 

TA DA!

The mystery sitting happened a few more times. I would put him in his crib for a nap, and peek in a few minutes later only to find him sitting up, looking as pleased as punch. A few more 'sits' went by before I managed to catch him in the act.

Again, traditional is not what I would call wee Kio's movement from tummy to bum.

It starts with a near perfect Downward Facing Dog, feet planted firmly on the ground, barely a hint of a bend at the knee. Once his bum is as high in the air as it can get, he lets his knees give out and down he goes into a sit.

Unfortunately, the pictures that I have don't really do the whole process justice because I've been laughing too hard to focus properly. 

That's probably why he did it in secret for so long.

With his very special crawl, and his one of a kind sit occupying his time, Kio has yet to start walking. He loves to stand while holding on to my hands for support but isn't really interested in pulling up on the furniture. He also likes to walk around while holding on to our hands and when I say walk...

Yes, his little walk is also rather unique.

He picks his foot up at high as he can and then takes the biggest step possible. It is truly ridiculous. When his grandfather witnessed this for the first time he commented that Kio is never going to be able to walk on his own if he doesn't take smaller steps. I would be inclined to agree except that his crazy crawl and silly sit seem to serve him just fine, and I'm sure his wonky walk will as well.

Perhaps as a member of a marching band...?

And that brings us to the piece de resistance, onesie number eleven. And what a onesie it is!

Just around the time that The Bean was conceived, our very good mates The Prices were packing up their life in Japan and heading back the UK. 

If the truth be told, and perhaps it shouldn't be but I'm feeling rather honest this evening, the great cell division that was to become our darling son more than likely began on the day of their leaving party. 

Anyway, having just vacated the Land of the Rising Sun, it was obvious that Lady Price would not be attending my baby shower - at least in person. 

She was certainly there in spirit! 

Being contenents apart didn't stop her from helping out with the games, sending a letter and labour bead, and inspiring a onesie with two simple words:

"sparkly motorbike".  

Genius!

Of course, once the idea was out in the open it was up to the Sugar Fairy to work her magic with the pattern.

Pure magic!

Before I could even pull the shirt over his head, Kio started in on the sparkles. He loves anything with beads, buttons or small pieces that he can twirl between his fingers; the sparkles on this shirt were no exception. It was quite difficult to get a picture that does the design justice while he was picking at it.

With onesie number eleven debuted that means that we are very close to the end of Kio's first year...eek!

First Blood

As Kio's first birthday quickly approaches, the list of 'firsts' is getting longer and longer. I'm excited by each milestone and enthusiastically share even the smallest development with anyone that will listen / read / look at photos of said 'happening'.

Ya, I'm one of those moms. 

But obviously dear reader you haven't had enough. Or perhaps you thought that this was a post about a Rambo movie. If such is the case, you might want to stop reading now.

As the title suggests, Kio has survived his first injury. In fact, of the two of us, I'm the one who is probably more worse for wear after the whole event. But now that it has been a few days, and I have pulled myself together, there is some humor to be found in the debacle.

When looking back on a not-so-fun mommy moment, I find that a little prose is the sugar that helps the medicine go down.

And thus our story begins...

The night was moist.

he he he

Sorry, any chance to reference the film, "Throw Mama from the Train" must be taken advantage of when at all possible. 

On with the story (for real this time).

It was a bitterly cold night in the dead of winter. Mama H, Baby H and Feline H were all nestled snugly in their beds. As dawn was slowly approaching Mama H was trying desperately to prolong her dream of warmer climes, before facing the frigid state of her abode.

A pristine beach, not a soul to be found for miles. Turquoise water, white sand, a tall Mojito nestled in the cup holder of a comfy beach lounge chair. 

Literally the stuff that dreams are made of.

Mama H languidly reaches for her drink when a piercing scream rips through the scene.

Unable to wrench herself out of such a tranquil moment, she begins to settle back into her lounge chair but the scream is getting louder and strangely closer...

Mama H bolts out of bed and leaps across the room in a single bound. She finds Baby H is sitting in his crib looking like something out of a horror movie; blood bubbling from his mouth, staining his sheets and pajamas.

She scoops up the distraught bundle and turns on the light in order to better survey the macabre scene.

First Baby H. 

He is inconsolable. There is blood pouring from his mouth. His top lip is swollen and he has what appears to be the beginning of a black eye.

Next the crib.

There is blood on the sheet and railing. Mama H has seen enough to put together the events that lead to the grizzly mess before her. Baby H woke to find that Mama H was still in a deep slumber. Being the sweet boy that he is, he decided to let her finish that Mojito on the beach, and put in some time practicing his 'stand'. And some point into said 'stand', he found himself hurtling towards the railing of his crib.

Although it felt like an eternity had passed for Mama H, it was in fact mere seconds from the time that she had scooped up her injured boy to coming to the realization of what had happened. Her next thought? 

To the hospital!

With the hysterical babe in tow, Mama H ran to her closet to grab a pair of socks and a bra - the two things that she deemed necessary to complete her outfit of yoga pants and a now blood stained sweatshirt. But when the poor screaming boy refused to be put down, she settled for the socks and decided that her winter coat would be have to be enough cover for the unsightly situation that was once her glorious rack.

"Car keys, insurance, money, phone..." Mama H rattled off the items as she haphazardly tossed them into her diaper bag. Upon seeing her phone she suddenly thought to call Papa H to tell him that they were headed to the hospital.

As a phone call from home at 5:30 in the morning could only mean trouble, Papa H hurried out of his crowded bar on to the street in order to focus on the situation at hand.

As Mama H began retelling the story she was met with an unusual response, "Calm down."

"I am calm!" came her shaken reply. And then, for the first time in her 37 years, Mama H realized that she was not on top of the situation. She was not calm.

Driving her mother to the emergency room with two broken wrists - on top of the situation.

Seeing her sister through the labour and delivery of her first two children - on top of the situation.

Being jostled by a group of men trying to rob her blind on the streets of New Delhi - stomped all over the situation. Literally.

But there, at that time and place, with her wounded wee boy, Mama H had lost her cool and was shaking into the phone.

Papa H's next question brought her back to reality, "Where is Baby H?"

"He's right here in my arms, can't you hear him screaming..." But as the words came out, Mama H realized that Baby H had stopped crying at about the time that she had finished pulling on her socks with one hand. Upon further inspection she also noticed that he had stopped bleeding. 

With Papa H talking her calmly through, Mama H did a good inspection of Baby H's face. His teeth were fine and there were no bumps on his head. Although his top lip was quite swollen, there was only a tiny cut on the inside. And yes, his left eye was looking a little purple but not puffy. And finally there was Baby H himself. He was smiling and yawning as his mom poked and prodded his sore but certainly not permanently damaged face.

As the sun began to creep up over the horizon, Mama H and Baby H snuggled back into bed where Feline H had remained soundly asleep throughout. As they drifted off, Mama H began forming a list of contact sports that her son would never be given the opportunity to play.

~ Fin ~ 

Merry Christmas(es) and a Happy New Year!

The turkey has been digested, and the presents put away.

The tree is back in storage awaiting a future Christmas day.

Resolutions have been made for two thousand and fourteen; 

we return to work tomorrow and it's back to the old routine.

 

Santa made the rounds, that guy knew what to do,

leaving loads of presents and the sadly the stomach flu.

We made our way to a shrine and rang the new year in,

and started the year of the horse with a prayer and a grin.

 

Kio's first Christmas was full of family and love.

Mommy ate too much chocolate, a food she is now sick of.

Daddy worked hard, having to wait for his rest,

but for the Hirano clan this Christmas certainly was the best!

 

Kio's first Christmas(es) are done and dusted and I am happy to report that he loved each and every one of them.

Yep, the kid celebrated Christmas three times. Such a lucky (and spoiled) little boy!

Christmas number one went down at Casa de Sugar Fairy. And man did she put on a spread! Shin and I put away our fair share of turkey with all the trimmings and Kio ate his weight in mashed potatoes - his first experience with butter and cream. I'd like to say that the bourbon laced chocolate pecan pie was a personal highlight of the evening, but there was something that outshone even that!

In true Sugar Fairy style, she handmade a gift for Kio (her boys each got one as well). Bearded baby beanies will go down in history as one of the most hilariously fantastic Christmas presents ever! 

Unfortunately, Kio wasn't too keen on the beard. I keep trying to slip it on him at home (because it is seriously funny) and he just rolls his eyes at me and pulls it off.

Christmas number two happened at our place. Due to work and schedule conflicts, Christmas was officially changed to the 27th in the Hirano household. 

As was the custom when I was growing up, Kio got to open one present on 'Christmas eve' (the night of the 26th in our house). 
 

Not quite your traditional present opening style, but it got the job done.

Have you ever seen a kid so happy to get a pair of pajamas?

The next morning Santa had come and Kio dove into his presents. However, as soon as he had opened his little xylophone, the rest fell by the wayside. 

Kio loves to make noise. I think that Santa was under the impression that mommy and daddy might be able to handle it a little better if it was somewhat musical in nature.

Hmmm...

We didn't push Kio and let him go through everything at his own pace. Of course he didn't have a clue as to the reason why the living room was suddenly filled with colorful paper and ribbons, but that didn't stop him from being super excited by it. By the time his morning siesta came around, he was wound up to the point of no return.

Later that day Shin's mom, dad, sister and her three kids arrived for their first ever Christmas dinner. I have to say that I was a little concerned when approaching the spread that took me two days to cook, our youngest nephew asked, "where's the rice?" But in the end everyone enjoyed the food and helped themselves to seconds and thirds.

As I mentioned before, we celebrated family Christmas on the 27th. This worked out well for a few reasons and one of them was that on the 25th, Kio came down with the stomach flu. For twenty-four hours he covered our apartment in vomit. It got so bad that he spent most of the day dressed in only his diaper, hanging out on a plastic sheet covered in a towel. 

And then he was 100% a-okay.

I only mention Kio's stomach flu because just as I finished serving up Christmas dessert, I came down with it as well. Within the next three days everyone that joined us for Christmas got a little something more than they bargained for.

Just as it was Shin's turn for the tummy bug, Christmas arrived again!

Two giant boxes from Canada made an appearance after Kio had gone to bed and Shin to work. So I had to sit there with all those presents and not touch them. This took a great deal of self control and it lasted up until I spied a box of chocolate Turtles.

When Shin got home the next day we tied into the presents once again.

This time Kio seemed to have the knack of it and opened a lot of them himself although the proceedings were waylaid when he came upon his Hickory Dickory Dock book - he is in love with that little mouse.

And after a week of presents and turkey dinners, Christmas came to an end...just in time for new year celebrations!

I have to say that new year's eve was a pretty tame event, which was fine as we all needed some Christmas recovery time. I stayed home with Kio and did the countdown with a glass of wine, and Shin worked. He called to wish me a happy new year, but couldn't talk for long as the celebration at his bar was in full swing.

The next day, following the Japanese tradition, we went to a nearby shrine. Even though it was a local place, not one of the big ones where thousands of people wait for hours to enter starting at midnight on January first, we still had to stand in line for about thirty minutes. Luckily, the old fellows from around the neighbourhood were keeping the fire going so we could stay warm.

Usually we spend time with Shin's family at new year, but as everyone was still recovering from the stomach flu, we spent a quiet evening at home.

With a few days of relaxation behind me (Shin was still working), I started the Christmas clean-up. The apartment feels a little less jolly now that it has been returned to its former state. I'm still trying to work out where to put all of Kio's new toys; he prefers them strung from one end of the apartment to the other and for the time being that's where they lay.

Shin is finally getting some much needed rest and taking a couple of days off this week. When I asked him what he'd like to do on his 'holiday' he rubbed the bags under his eyes and said "relax". Fair enough mon cheri.

January is my last month of 'maternity leave' (although I have been working part-time) and then it's back to work full-time for this mama, and Kio will head to nursery school in February.

*sniff, sniff*

Ten months, ten onesies.

Each time I write a 'onesie' post, I want to say how fast the time is going. In fact, I probably do. So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I can't believe that Kio is already ten months old!

As I'm with Kio everyday it is more difficult to see how he changes physically. It's not until someone, who hasn't seen him in a while, comments on how much he's grown that I realize that he is sprouting like a little weed. It also reminds me that I should probably go through his clothes and sort through the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. 

Seriously, the rate that he goes through clothes is ridiculous.

The changes that that are far easier for me to notice, and never cease to amaze me, are in the things that he can do. I don't just mean things like rolling and sitting, which were of course amazing milestones to witness, but the skills like thinking and reasoning are what blow my mind every time.
 

Oji-chan (grandpa) and Oba-chan (grandma) Hirano recently bought Kio his first car - the kid totally thumped my 37 year wait! In fact, he didn't even have to wait for Christmas. Lucky boy.

It comes equipped with all the bells and whistles that a ten month old could ever want: a keyboard, a dancing bear hood ornament, a musical horn, a key that revs the engine and best of all a radio that plays all the great kiddy hits.

Unfortunately, it does NOT come equipped with earplugs.

Shin is pretty sure that his parents are getting revenge for his rather rocky teenage years. Too bad that he's soundly asleep for the majority of the time Kio spends rockin' out in his groove mobile. 

In all honesty it doesn't irritate me that much...that much.

When Kio first got behind the wheel he wasn't really sure what to do. He loved all the sounds but I ended up pushing the buttons for him. Which of course didn't last very long and he spent his time just rockin' on his own.

The second time he hopped in the driver's seat there was no stopping him, he knew straight off which button to go to for all his favourite tunes. And has since played them over, and over, and over again.

Trying not to dwell on the noise factor, it was amazing to see how quickly he had watched what I did and then was able to do it by himself. He loves things with buttons and is always inspecting how they work. The TV remote control is one of his favourites. We have also been reading books from the 'That's not my...' series. Each page has a new texture for him to touch and he's right there with his little finger rubbing and scratching away.

Discovering stuff is the best!

For those of you that check-in on the Hiranos with any regularity, you may have noticed that we've been on a bit of a hiatus. Of course the Christmas season has been keeping us busy but before that there was also Mommy Thumb to deal with.

On December 11th, Kio's ten month birthday and also 2013.12.11 (I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm such a sucker for stuff like that) I had my Mommy Thumb operation.

I had originally planned to write a separate blog post about the whole procedure, I even got as far as penning a bit of it, but it ended up being rather graphic. I figured that if I was giving myself the creeps after actually going through the procedure, people weren't going to want to read about it. So in a quick summary - being awake while having an operation, no matter how small, is extremely nasty yet totally fascinating.

It also ended up being quite painful.

There was at least a week where typing was definitely out of the question, and after that my thumb was all stiff. It has now been twenty days and I'm happy to report that my thumb is back to normal, no pain when picking up Kio whatsoever!

Anyway, excuses made and belated Christmas and New Year posts to follow soon.

Kio's ten month onesie was made by grandma Hirano and it is his first double digit shirt!

I've tried to take pictures of Kio wearing his special onesie on the date of his birthday, this time it wasn't possible (see above excuse). However, it was only a few days later that he wriggled into his ten month shirt.

And wriggle he did!

I took countless pictures of him. Trying to get him to face forward, with the full picture on the shirt showing AND smile, all while trying not to use my left hand became a bit much. In the end I settled for this.

It doesn't show up as much as I thought it would, but he managed to scratch his eyelid in the process and I've just realized that he's probably due for another haircut.

What a nutter!

 

Christmas is in the Air!

I have always loved Christmas! I love the decorations, the food, the shopping hysteria and although I could do without Mariah squealing in my ear, I don't even mind the music. But most of all, I love spending time with family.

On November 22nd, I had my thirteen year 'Japaniversary'. During that time I have only been back to Canada once for Christmas. In many cases I've had to work, but mostly it is the crazy price of travel at this time of year that has kept me away. As such, I have become accustomed to a rather scaled down version of Christmas celebrations.

I always put up my Charlie Brown Christmas tree and make a turkey dinner for friends who are also far from home. Shin and I exchange presents and the Christmas spirit is certainly in the air but...

...it's just not the same without your family.

Now that I have my own little family, Kio's first Christmas is something that I have been looking forward to.

On one condition, it doesn't start until December!

In my world there needs to be some downtime between Halloween and Christmas. It drives me crazy that shops are blaring Christmas music first thing in the morning on November 1st (in some cases even before that).

Now that December has arrived we're totally ready to embrace the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, it has been very busy in the Hirano household and we weren't able to do anything together as a family until last night.

It is my hope that when Kio is all grown up, he will think back on Christmas and not focus on the presents, but remember the good times that we had together as a family. As such, Shin and I are trying to do all of our Christmas activities together.

This is a difficult thing when you live on different 24 hour clocks.

As last night was the first time we were all in the apartment together we cranked the Christmas tunes and got good ole' Charlie out of his box.

Assembling Charlie.

While Daddy and Kio were busy putting the tree together, I got the ornaments out - Kio was immediately enthralled.

We decided that for this year we would keep the tree out of Kio's reach, so we put it up on a small table in our living room. We all had a hand in decorating, Kio couldn't get enough of the shiny baubles and flashing lights.

He clearly enjoys the Christmas tree MUCH more than the blow-up Jack-o-lantern from Halloween.

With Charlie all decked out in his glory we finished off the evening by writing Christmas cards. Kio insisted on signing them himself.

He also 'signed' his face, my arm and his highchair.

Yea for Christmas!

Mommy Thumb

In the past I've heard mothers say that they wish that their child came with a handbook. Admittedly, it would make parenting your individual child a lot easier, but where's the sense of adventure? Where's the feeling of accomplishment when you get it right for once? Although I think that I'll survive without the handbook (hopefully Kio will too), there are a few tidbits of wisdom that I wish someone had passed on, and today I want to focus on one of them: The 'correct' way to pick up your baby.

A no brainer you say?

I beg to differ.

Of course, most people that posses an iota of common sense know that you don't pick up your baby by one arm or by their head, but just in case...

From the time Kio was about three months old, I've been dealing with tendinitis in my left wrist and thumb. Many women get it when they are pregnant, but mine showed up after the fact.

In the beginning there was some tingling and an occasional spasm of pain, especially when I was picking Kio up out of his crib. I dismissed it as one of the side effects of having a rather pudgy baby.

After a couple of months the pain was constant and it became necessary to wear a wrist supporter.

As an aside, I would like someone to please tell me why supporters either come in, "Filthy After the First Wear White" or "Nobody Actually Has This Skin Tone Nude"? Maybe that's where my millions await me - designer wrist supporters.

Yes?

Anyway, I decided that it was time to consult Dr. Google and figure out what the heck was going on.

Dr. G: Trouble lifting even small objects, like a coffee cup?
Me: Check!

Dr. G: Restricted range of movement in the thumb?
Me: Double check!

Dr. G: Pain on the thumb side of the wrist while twisting or gripping?
Me: Any excuse not to wash dishes, check number three!

Dr. G: Hurts to make a fist?
Me; You bet!

Dr. G: Weak hand - afraid you'll drop things?
Me: Like my baby!? Hell yes!

And thus I was self-diagnosed with 'Mommy Thumb'.

Apparently, this form of tendinitis is common in new mothers because they repeatedly pick up their babies incorrectly.

This is where a manual might have come in handy.

After months of hooking my thumbs under Kio's armpits I was informed (again by Dr. Google) that this method of picking up an infant is wrong. If done repeatedly, it can lead to a repetitive strain injury.

No kidding!

Apparently, what I should have been doing is using flattened hands on either side of his ribcage and then picking him up.

I have since tried this and it is virtually impossible - it might have worked when Kio was a teeny newborn, but now that he's in all of his pudgy glory...no way! So much for your silly advice Dr. Google, perhaps it was time to go to a real doctor.

It took Real Person Doctor less than a minute to diagnose me with De Quervain's Syndrome (aka Mommy Thumb). He spent some time explaining exactly what was going on in my wrist, and in true Japanese style, it was done as cutely as possible.

He said that a shot of cortisone would more than likely fix me right up, but warned that it would be 'quite painful' as the injection site is next to a nerve.

'Quite' painful my ass!

I realize that after going through natural childbirth I should have an altered concept of pain. But in all honesty, I don't really remember the pain part of the whole ordeal. So, keeping childbirth out of the equation, that needle was probably the most painful thing that I have ever experienced!

At the time, Kio was fussing a bit so Shin was busy and unable to provide a hand to hold - more than likely for the best. I'm sure that there would've been a broken bone or two! I grabbed the closest thing I could find for support (the handle of Kio's stroller) and bore down...

If the mere thought of a needle makes you feel queasy, I recommend skipping over the next bit.

Once the needle was in, everything went in slow motion.

Some pressure...

A little more pressure...

A kind of 'pop' as the needle worked it's way around some cartilage...

And then total freakin' agony!

As I was gritting my teeth against the excruciating pain an odd thought popped into my head - in the movies you always see people biting down on a stick when they are experiencing something extremely painful; I would've given just about anything for a stick at that moment.

And then it was over.

Time to exhale.

For the next couple of hours my thumb felt like it had been to the dentist. After the numbness subsided the familiar pain returned but I figured it was from the needle and I'd be as right as rain in the morning.

Wrong!

After all that, my Mommy Thumb was left uncured.

This all took place in September and according to doctor's orders I've been resting said thumb as much as humanly possible.

But when you have a rather busy nine month old, and no dishwasher, rest does not come easily.

Plus, I couldn't find any little pillows.

After a couple of close calls where my thumb stopped working altogether, I went back to the doctor and demanded more drastic action be taken (as long as it doesn't involve another needle). So next month I'm having a little outpatient operation to snip the sheath that covers the swollen tendons.

Hopefully it will go as 'cutely' as this...

Nine months, nine onesies.

Last month when I was writing about what Kio had been up to, I mentioned that I was worried about not having any exciting stories to tell. Then the egg allergy incident happened and there was all sorts of excitement.

You truly should be careful what you wish for.

This month I am happy to report that our lives have been drama free and Kio has spent most of his time bathing us in cuteness and his lunch.

Last summer while we were in Canada, Kio spent a great deal of time poking his tongue out and blowing raspberries with his Grandpa Gary. At the time it was pretty high up there on the adorable scale, unfortunately the trick has taken a new turn.

Each morning I'm woken by raspberry fueled smiles and strangers on the train get their fair share as well. Raspberries are blown during playtime and nap time and meal time...

Green beans anyone?

During his rare breaks from raspberry madness, Kio spends a most of his time in motion.

Unconcerned about the presence of music, or the toy that he happens to be holding, when the urge to dance comes upon him, Kio gives it his all! There is arm waving, head shaking, feet kicking and toys flying - basically the boy is a dancing fool.

You'd think that all of that dancing would leave him exhausted and ready for nap time. Not our Kio.

Once the raspberries have been blown, and the dance has been danced, it's time for crawling practice.

Before you get all excited, I have to say that he still hasn't mastered his crawl and for the most part his efforts end in teary frustration. But I'm thinking that he's going to figure it out any day now, then Hirano household will assume a whole new state of chaos.

So far, this is what he's got:

Arms out in front.

Bum in the air.

Aaaannnddd...

Backward motion only.

That's usually when he starts to cry or gives up and rolls to his destination. Like I said, any day now.

Kio's nine month birthday coincided with our second wedding anniversary. Last year Shin and I began the practice of giving each other gifts from the traditional anniversary gift list - second anniversary is cotton. We are neither in the market for sheets or towels, and with Christmas and birthdays just around the corner I was rather hesitant to buy clothes. As such, I was kind of at a loss for a gift idea.

A couple of days before, I was looking for a button to sew on one of Shin's shirts (awww domestic bliss), and I came across the material swatches from the suit that he had made for our wedding. Digging a little further, I found the swatches from my wedding dress. A quick trip to the craft store and I had our anniversary give sorted - his and hers wedding outfit key chains. The perfect 'cotton' gift for people that have just bought a car!

Yes I know, neither outfit was actually made of cotton. Whatever. It's the gesture that counts here people.

On the 11th we went to Nara Park for a picnic. It was freezing cold so we ate most of the food in the car on the way home. Kio was well impressed with the deer (me not so much), and a kind woman gave us her extra ticket to the Nara National Museum's special exhibit, which was both warm and impressive.

All in all, it was a nice family oriented anniversary.

Although it was quite late when we got home, there was one more thing to do and that was to have Kio model his nine month onesie.

This month's onesie and letter were done by our good friend Autumn. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend my baby shower (a job interview certainly takes precedence) but she did send along a totally awesome robot onesie and a dragon labour bead.

I tried for ages to get a picture of Kio AND the back of the shirt, this was the best that I could come up with and thus it needs a little explanation. It's a lightening bolt and at the top it says, 'The Bean'.

Love it!