On most evenings we have about 2-3 hours after Sumie gets home before Mimi goes to bed. This is our family time and it's generally filled with cooking and eating dinner, washing up, putting Mimi's toys away seven or eight times, the occasional bath, and reading stories. It's a pretty full slate for only three hours, but Mimi is somehow able to impose her own agenda as well each night.
Several nights ago Mimi decided to take a liking to lemons. Around 6:30pm she decided that lemons were her new favorite toy. I still don't fully understand the attraction - she doesn't drink lemonade, take lemon in her milk, poach halibut in a lemon butter sauce, or even suck on sour lemon drops - but I suppose they are colorful, smell good, fun to throw, and make a satisfying "thunk" when they land on the kitchen tile.
Mimi managed to play with this basket of yellow citrus for over an hour.
I think she'll enjoy lemonade in the future. Here she is attempting to drink a lemon. She doesn't quite have the concept, yet.
The evening isn't all about citrus love, however. Mimi's joys are always counterbalanced by things that make her scream, whine, or cower. This time it was my remote control helicopter. This noisy little flea, which weighs little more than an ounce or so, struck abject terror into Mimi at first.
But with time, and a few gentle passes overhead, she began to find it interesting.
By the end of the evening she'd applaud each successful landing. And yes, it is difficult to fly a helicopter and to take pictures at the same time.
I've always loved machines, but I had no idea one could bond so quickly with a helicopter. It makes me wonder. Does she think it's an animal, like her stuffed dog and cat? Does it have free will in her world? Does it want to be friends? Can it be trusted? Why does Papa sometimes follow it around the house? I wish that I could peek inside.
Once we're done with dinner, and we've gone through Mimi's flashcards and a few books, it's time for Mimi's bedtime bottle. I guess it had been a long day because Mimi, who usually sucks down her bottle in 5 minutes to return to play, was soon completely passed out. Must've been some pretty strong milk...
Tuckered out, Papa takes her to bed. At 16 months she's just taken to laying her head on my shoulder. She'd always keep her head up as an infant, but now that she's a little older she seems to take some comfort in Papa's ample padding. Maybe it's just that the house is rather cold and Papa radiates a lot of heat...
Mimi generally sleeps through the night and wakes the next morning ready to play. Here she is still in her jammies. She insisted that I take this picture in front of my MacBook with my iPhone as a little "thank you" to Steve Jobs. She knows the role he played in making sharing Mimi's life so much easier than it would have been even 5 years ago.
But with each passing there is a new arrival. Just this morning Mimi learned that she has a new baby cousin. Haruki Ling was born this morning to Kae and Eddie Ling around 6:00am! Mimi will be working hard to become a good role model for him, I'm sure of it.
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