Preparation and Imitation

This week, I have entered into the wonderful realm of "full term" pregnancy. Technically, my due date isn't for another three weeks, but if the baby came today, the doctors would be cool with that. All the little and big things we've been doing to get ready for baby have taken on a new importance now that we're in the "any day now" bit. I started packing my hospital bag, which is a slow and bothersome job for me since I need most of the stuff I'm supposed to be packing (any clothes that still fits is essential when you start growing out of maternity shirts), and I even bought infant diapers and washed some baby stuff in the detergent (most of it was washed before we packed it up).

Over the weekend, we visited the labor and delivery area in the hospital where I'm supposed to go when the time comes. It's in the same place as my usual appointments, but I had never seen the part where we'll actually go when the baby comes. This was important to me because last time I was in Japan, and I wanted to get the scoop on what to expect from an American hospital. I came out of the experience feeling very reassured. The labor and delivery rooms look quite comfortable, and the doctors and nurses are very accomodating of whatever the Moms want to do as far as pain management, from the sounds of it. The only down is I can't eat during labor this time, but that's really not that big of a deal. After the baby is born, I'll have to spend two days in a semi-private room (it looks like 2 to a room), but visitors are welcome (they have a lounge for larger groups), Zack can stay with me if he likes, and we can order whatever I want to eat from the time baby comes on, so it should be relatively comfortable. So that all looks good. The visit also reminded me to pack a bag for Ela, in case she needs to hang out at a friend's house for the first bit of my labor until family arrive. That bag is a bit easier to put together.

Speaking of Ela, she's really into the imagination play lately, and I've been enjoying the occasional surprise of hearing myself in her play. Her favorite game is putting her toys to bed, which kind of makes sense, given our efforts on that front with her. She covers them with blankets, says "night night" then tosses the blankets off and pulls the toy out, after which she says "go back to bed." very firmly or "Sleepy time!". Cracks me up. (She is actually sleeping much better, by the way. I usually don't have to get up with her any more.) She's cooking more in her kitchen, too. She likes to make me tea and cupcakes. Yum yum!

The other day while I was getting dressed, Ela sat in the rocking chair and "read" her books to herself. This, in itself, is not unusual, but I rarely get to hear what she says when she reads. I was really amazed at some of what she remembers from when I read to her. One of the books she chose she had only heard twice (once at the library and once at home), and she was imitating the librarian who had read it, counting things on the pages, and using the right words. I hadn't realized she'd even been paying attention when we were that library, so it was pretty amazing to me. The other book I heard was about pregnancy and baby in the belly. We read it a lot because Ela likes to lift the little flaps that show the baby in Mommy's belly. I didn't think she was getting the point of the book, just looking at the pictures, but she remembered all the rhyming words and was saying the right things on each page. It was quite impressive.

As a result of all this imitation play, I'm constantly trying to watch what I say and do in front of her. It's bad enough when I hear her yelling at Dory in my exact tone of voice, but I don't want her to pick up any worse behaviors from me if at all possible. So my kiddos are keeping me on my toes!

A Parade

Last Saturday, we braved the slightly cold weather and the enormous crowds of tourists to take Ela to the National Cherry Blossom Parade. We took the metro down to the center of town, because my walking range has been reduced of late, and managed to find ourselves a pretty good spot near the beginning of the route. When the parade started, we were in the front row. There were lots of the usual parade participants: bands, dance groups, and what not, but there were also a few groups that made the whole thing feel more Japanese. Ela liked the baloons a lot.

Personally, I really liked the Taiko Drummers, who were from Japan.

Of course there was a queen of the parade.

And there was an American drumming group as well.

Ela's very favorite was the horsies that occasionally came through. She lit up whenever they passed by.

By about halfway through the parade, the front row had become the back, as the police caved to the inevitable and let people sit in front of the ropes. Ela was soon not going to be able to see anything, my feet were hurting from standing, and Zack was hungry, so we decided that on hour of parade was enough for us. We got back on the metro to go get a nice lunch out, beating the crowds out of the center of town. I had kind of forgotten how much busier everything is in the spring and summer when the tourists start coming back to town. It's a little exhausting being around so many people who are just passing through. I'm glad we live here full time and can enjoy some of the attractions when no one else is there. Despite the crowds, though, the parade was a lot of fun, and it's always good to get out of the house and see something new.

Ela's New Friend

The hardest part about making this monkey was putting all the pieces together. Ela got ahold of her head before I finished assembling her and fell in love, and every time I'd get her out to stitch on an arm, I'd have to keep her hidden lest she go play. Ela christened her "Big Girl" for awhile (she doesn't really name things), but I don't think she calls her that anymore, just Monkey. I also finished the scarf I was knitting, and started another knitting project that I really do expect to take forever. I've decided that currently crochet is the better craft for me because 1) doing anything other than flat work requires so much stuff for knitting (extra needles, markers, whatever), and I don't really want to invest in all that stuff just now and 2) Ela takes such an interest in my projects. If she takes my hook out of my crocheting, no problem. If she takes my work off a knitting needle, it's a big problem. At any rate, I doubt I'll be doing much in the way of crafty stuff in another month. I'll have my hands full. I'm glad I got the monkey finished before then!