It's cherry blossom time.
I took O'mi to the temple across the street and tried out some of the settings on my camera. Unfortunately, not many photos came out well.




I gave O'mi a fallen blossom but he wasn't sure what to do with it.




He enjoyed the lens cap a little more.

mobile

O'mi is now mobile. He crawled two steps one day, and then across the room the next. We were still safe when he ended up collapsing on his belly. He couldn't figure out how to lift himself back up. That ended the next day. Now, he has no problems going from his belly to crawling. His favorite objects are now very clear as he can (semi)freely pursue them. In no particular order, O'mi likes phones, pens, notebooks, Rocky, and Rocky's bone. No videos of the rampaging baby yet, but I should have one next week.

For now, O'mi had a 10-months birthday party. I'm not sure what that is, but every 20th, Kiyomi figures out some way to celebrate. This time she made a kind of steamed sweet potato bread and it was the first time O'mi actually got to eat his birthday cake. Here is the evidence.


A little curious...





A little voracious...

peek-a-boo

O'mi has learned how to play peek-a-boo. He will do it over and over by hiding his own eyes. In the video below, he plays with Kiyomi who says the Japanese version of peek-a-boo. He also has begun to do some head-banging, even to opera. However, lack of music doesn't seem to stop O'mi.

fire walking

No pictures of O'mi this time, but I went to a "fire crossing" festival on a mountain a few hours away from Tokyo. The temple that hosts the festival dates to the 8th century. The monks chanted prayers for about half an hour before lighting a fire. About 1000 people gathered.






And then after the flames went down and they raked the coals, they walked across.

flux and stasis

O'mi's teeth are finally big enough to see in a picture (I think). They are sharp and I no longer let him gnaw on my fingers. I can't imagine how Kiyomi is dealing with his occasional bites.



Now feeding time is easier with a high chair. If we're lucky, he's docile.



However, most often we can't feed O'mi fast enough and he gets a little impatient.



O'mi bites the sippy cup more often than he actually uses it.



O'mi's eyes are now multi-colored. Gray, green, and brown---from out to in. They began as gray and have slowly been gaining other colors. We're curious how they'll end up.

three weeks in

Like the end of our days in Boston life is still mostly in boxes. These last few days O'mi has been saying "Mama" and "mamamamamamamamama" with regularity. Unfortunately, Kiyomi has been away the entire time. If I say "Dada" to O'mi, he smiles. Then he says "Mamamamama" again and again.


O'mi and Rocky don't seem to mind the boxes.