Water Baby

I figured I had better blog something before we actually hit the holidays (not counting Thanksgiving). Life has been good and busy for all of us. Hana's class schedule has expanded to include "water babies" at the YWCA. This has turned out to be a private class for her.


She seems to be enjoying the water, though she's not wild about getting her face wet.

Hana is such an active girl, we thought this would suit her. She's continuing with music class at MacPhail in Minneapolis, Early Childhood Family Education, and baby ballroom dancing as well.

We want to expose Hana to other kids and these classes have been great. She is quite social and enjoys watching and sometimes chasing after the other toddlers. Occasionally, she tries to sit on another kid. We're working on that. Hana is a fast walker, though she's still a little unsteady sometimes. She also likes to climb. One of her favorite things is just grabbing as many objects as she can and walking around with them. She just started placing blocks (instead of just throwing them around) and holding crayons (eating them too). It's been fun to see her make so many changes.

Last Sunday, I attended the St. Paul chapter of Compassionate Friends' Candle Lighting Remembrance Service. This is an international group supporting families who've lost children. It was a nice way of honoring our children before the holidays. I've discovered a whole new set of friends on the grief journey, most I've met through the grief groups at Children's Hospital. Though we'd rather not be together for this reason, it has been encouraging to find each other. Our lives are forever changed in so many ways because of Mieko. She continues to bring wonderful people into our lives.

We hope you all have happy holidays filled with joy, laughter, and many warm memories. I promise to post with all the holiday happenings soon.