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Tuesday night I went to Masami's for a party. Her children's eikaiwa wanted to give me a goodbye party, even though I've only been there once, they always like to have native speakers in class. We ate cake and ice cream and played with the baby, Sawa.

While Masami had another one-on-one lesson with a junior high school student, Kazuya (her husband) and I went shopping for dinner groceries. I loved grocery shopping with Sawa on my hip. Getting to play mother for an afternoon is wonderful!!! I even ran into Vicky and Melissa at the store, so I got to show off my baby a little, too!!

Masami invited me to spend the night, as it was getting late and we still had to give Sawa a bath and put her to bed before we could even start to eat. I love spending the night at their house. I get a nice big futon and a wonderful breakfast the next morning--of course, I agreed!!

Sawa drying off after her bath.

Woah, today's pictures are bigger than usual.

Then I got to dress Sawa.

I love how Masami always just shoves Sawa into my arms. Even in the hospital when she was just a few days old, Masami plopped her into my arms and started shooting pictures. I wasn't even sure if I should be allowed responsibility of a newborn baby--and then there she was in my arms.

And every time I've met her since: in the grocery store, at the bank, during the party, and after bath she is in my arms. I get to dress her, feed her and rock her to sleep. Masami even offered to let us sleep together (on the futon on the floor), but I was afraid of rolling over her, so I didn't accept that offer.

Sawa playing happily on the floor.

She's a really great baby, and Masami's approach to raising her is going to help her be an independent and confident child. She doesn't cry with strangers and doesn't need constant attention. She plays with alone with only a few toys. I'm trying to speak a lot of English to her, so she's exposed to the different sounds.

Some of the things that surprised me most were:
1. She has no crib or stroller.
She has a chair with a tray for eating meals, but she sleeps at night on a futon with her parents and takes naps on a pad on the floor. There's a car seat of course, but she is carried every where else. Sawa is a tiny baby and is very easy to carry around, but I suspect even as she gets older she will be walking herself around, not being pushed around.

2. She has no bottle or "sippy cup."
They give her watered-down tea from a regular plastic cup!! She can't hold it herself, but she grasps the handles as they help her drink.

3. She has less toys than I have fingers.
Mostly she plays with an Anpanman box with buttons that make noises and other manipulatives like a telephone and tiny door. She has one soft book with pockets and a rabbit doll to put in the pockets. Then two books from the library. She has a couple other toys, but she likes Anpanman the best.

I hate it when a million toys are scattered all over the floor and most of them are rarely touched. Maybe as she gets older more will accumulate.

4. She can speak English.
Well, if I'm hearing her right, she's already saying things like "Da-da" and "I want to move over to the couch now."

She loves music and glittery things. When the TV is playing music, she waves her arms around. If she sees the silver camera or my rings sparkling, she wants to get closer and touch them. Apparently she likes the buttons on the remote, too. Sawa can't stand yet, but her legs are getting stronger. If I stand her up she can bounce around on her legs. I'm not sure when kids are supposed to start walking, but she's not even one until the end of September!

She's got a tooth on the bottom. It's really cute.

Masami is going to send her to America to live with me when she's older. If there's anyone who would actually do that, it's Masami.