A random sampling of things, including Papaya’s first made up word.

• Papaya’s new word: “Bah-dtu.” The inflections will vary, and likely changes the word’s meaning. She uses this word more than all other words combined by a factor of about one hundred.
• Recent morning convo with Nashi:
  • Me: Did you have a dream last night?
  • Nashi: I had a wonderful dream. I was playing with Papaya. She was playing with me before she was born, it was magical!
  • Me: What did she look like?
  • Nashi: Like a big full moon!
  • Me: *bolts out the door to write it all down
• Another Nashi quote, upon getting the hiccups: “Why the heck do I have hiccups?”
• Papaya can now crawl with greater efficiency. She can stand on two feet when braced against something. She seeks out the smallest available items and attempts to get them in her mouth. She doesn’t like it when I save her life by removing choking hazards from her hand.
• Nashi very much loves his sister. Whenever I drop him off at school while holding Papaya, he will say goodbye to me but requires a solid snuggle with his sister.
• Papaya will be ten months old in three days. This meaningless fact is more interesting to me than the fact that today is my birthday.

Our family just spent four days up at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Driving is a pain, aside from double nap time. Papaya doesn’t like being on long drives. On the bright side, Nashi’s relentless energy is something Papaya usually appreciates. Although I get stressed by various transportation related troubles, I can see signs of good family trips to come. Very much looking forward to seeing them play and explore together as Papaya gets a little older.

A key takeaway for the parents is that we’re truly becoming a family of four. One bed and a small couch is quickly becoming inadequate. We need to start planning trips like the kids are actual people and not cute little accessories.

Bah-dtu!