Japan Town in the City

It wasn't quite Tokyo, but watching Nikko and Emi shop for Japanese goodies and eat tempura in J-Town was reminicent of our time in Roppongi less than 6 months ago. Of course, the best part was having Miya there to add to the chaos fun. :-)

It's funny and quite remarkable to see how much Nikko has matured in 6 months. In Japan, Gregor had to carry him (or he sat strapped in the stroller) much of the time because he loved to wander off. And he was quick! Now, he sticks with us, just like Emi and Miya do. The three of them will hold hands and going out, like we did this weekend, is far less stressful than it would seem. It was a lovely day trip and, as the kiddos slept in the backseat on our way home, Gregor and I talked about how lucky we are to have them.

Birthdays and 5 months home

With Nikko's arival into our family, we now celebrate all 3 kids birthdays within a span of 18 days in Feb. and March. A friend pointed out to me that all of their birthdays are in chronological order from oldest to youngest- Emi's first, then Nikko's and last Miya's. It's been a great time to focus on how unique and special our kiddos are...and we're so grateful for each of them.

Nikko has continued to amaze us. He has picked up on English amazingly fast and recently started preschool with Miya. His teachers are impressed with his ability to interact, problem solve and comprehend, after only being home for 5 months. Best of all, it looks like he'll be able to start kindergarten on schedule (Spet. 2011). Amazing. He's so incredibly resilliant, strong, sweet and loving.

We're also so proud of the girls, who loved their brother from Day 1 and never looked back. That was, perhaps my biggest concern when we decided to adopt Nikko. Fortunately, my 3 and 5 year old daughters were far wiser than me. :-) They were meant to be siblings. They'll argue over a toy or what to watch on TV one minute and, then next minute, I'll hear squeals of laughter (times 3) as they put on an impromptu song and dance show. A few hours later, we're likely to find them all asleep in one of their beds.

I've learned to let them work out disagreements on their own and that they're usually pretty good at it. As time goes on, and their relationships grow, I also see how much they really love each other. No doubt, Emi and Miya have helped Nikko become who he is today. Miracles definitely come in all shapes and sizes...and we're so lucky to have these three.

As luck would have it, Nikko and Miya both recently had the opportunity to model for the same company that Emi models for.

Celebrating Hina Matsuri

Big 5 year old Emi-chan

4 year old Nikko-chan

3 year old Mimi-chan