A Month in Review

Happy 7-Month Birthday, Joshua Kento!!

So what have I been up to this past month??

Here I am in the "GC," as my parents call this. It stands for "Gated Community." Here I can safely play and practice my standing/balancing while Mommy works in the kitchen or while the adults eat at the kitchen table. Does this mean I don't get to sit on Daddy's lap anymore during mealtimes?

Here I am with my "Music Man" toy that will grow with me...keep looking for the new ways it will change. It's fun because I can get it to make sounds like a drum, play "Peek-a-Boo" (in Japanese "I-nai. Inai. BA!"), and all sorts of things. I'm discovering new capabilities every day :-)

It's funny! Mommy was so surprised to see me trying to stand up in my crib (after she put me to bed one night.) The next night (Tuesday, Sept. 29th), I nailed it! Then, I got to stay up extra in Mommy's arms while Daddy lowered my bed right away :-)

They say I'm going to keep Mommy & Daddy "on their toes." I don't know what that means, but I know I love toes :-D

Ta Da!!

Ready to go on our Sunday morning walk!

My Breakfast Picnic of Formula...Yummy!

Our hoped for MisDo (Mister Donuts) closed on us, so we ended up with McD's. Neither are too "healthy," but their the best as far as "fun" breakfast out here. (Those of you who have enjoyed - or should I say, "experienced" - breakfast out in Japan know what I mean!)

Enjoying the park in the middle of downtown Sannomiya, not far from Daddy's work.

Earlier in the month I ate here in my chair that I like to sit in to watch Baby Einstein sometimes.

Now, I'm moving up in the house - I eat twice a day in my own High Chair! So far I like Rice Cereal, Japanese Pumpkin (Kabocha), Sweet Potato (did you know they're YELLOW?),Carrots, Applesauce and Bananas! When I'm done eating I signal by looking down at my colorful floor mat and seeing if I can find all the food that I've helped find it's way to the floor :-D

Kobe Waterfront Boardwalk (conveniently located near Babies-R-Us)



This fall weather is perfect - not too hot, not too cool!

Enjoying my "Who Loves Baby" Chew Book with my grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts & uncles and cousins pictures :-)



Future Buckeye?!?

Daddy's boy

You should see me chase & roll my football around the living room! Come play with me :-)

ADOPTION PROCESS UPDATE/PRAISE REPORT:

We've had two meetings with our social worker from the family court. We are very thankful as she seems very thorough, proactive and is nice to work with. A friend from church went with us as Japanese support for our first meeting (to help with the more technical aspects and make sure we were all staying on the same page.) Then, the social worker came and checked things out here in our home.

Now it appears that our part is done and we wait for the duration of the required six-month waiting period, while the court continues gathering their information from the other parties. Our six-month waiting period ends at the end of February. It is very encouraging that our social worker has already said that she'll call us toward the end of January to schedule our final home visit, so that she can submit her findings to the judge for a decision as soon as the six-months is up! We had heard from friends who also adopted in our area (same family court) that things went very quickly and smoothly for them. We are excited, as it seems that way for us too! Let's keep praying that the adoption will be finalized by Joshua's 1st Birthday!

Six Month Photo Shoot

Joshua turned Six Months on September 27th -

On September 30th, Joshua seemed especially photogenic & playful, so I tried to get a couple of pictures.

He learned to sit up by himself on Friday, September 18th

Showers of Blessing

It all started on Friday, July 24th - the day before Joshua came home...

We knew he could be coming any day, however, we didn't know exactly which day that ANY day would be. However, wonderful friends from church planned a Welcome Joshua luncheon to celebrate and pray for me/us in anticipation of his arrival. These are ladies from the Couples' Bible study and my Japanese language mentor/friend. It was so encouraging!
Here we are: Satoko, Mari & Little Micah, Yoshiko, Me & Keiko O. (Not pictured is Nana, who had already gone back to work.)

Then, upon arriving home, I got THE call - Joshua's coming tomorrow (Saturday, July 25th)!

From July 25th and on the doorbell kept ringing - gifts and greetings from near and far welcoming Joshua home! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the out-pouring of love and sharing our joy!! We are still reeling :-)

Somewhere during this time, I got wind of a "virtual shower" being held on our behalf by dear friends in Indy, who actually CAME TO KOBE to host this shower here! I couldn't believe it, but then....

On Thursday, September 17th Sonja & Kristin arrived with 87 books weighing over 100 pounds!!

On Saturday, Jonathan & the ladies put on this beautiful spread and we had a Baby Shower!

Sue, missionary and the wonderful mother of three, living nearby, is also a professional-level cake maker! Yummy & Delicious!!

We were all enjoying things being friendly and polite...

And then, the competitive sides started to show themselves :-D We had the most entertaining game of "Put the diaper on the stuffed pig!" Does anyone recognize Hamilton or Peter???

I love Masami's face, "What in the world am I supposed to do here?!" Anyway, she did GREAT, even under pressure!!

Group Photo :-)

The aftermath...a stack of books and gifts taller than Joshua! Our cup truly overflows!!!

Unexpected Routing

What are Kohls Senior to do when they find themselves already far away from home and they have a sudden trip cancellation?!?! Well, Jonathan's folks decided to go to Germany where his dad built a baby crib for Joshua (and any future siblings that the Lord may bring) and his mom re-doubled her efforts to finish the beautiful afghan for Joshua. Then, five days later, they got on another flight and came to visit us in Kobe and meet Joshua, gifts in tow! So, we were totally blessed to have them come love on little Joshua and pamper us in the process :-)

Let's start with the raw materials (no Home Depot to depend on)

The master carpenter hard at work...God sure doesn't waste any of our talents, does He?!

Ta Da! The finished product - thanks so much Hoffmans for everything!

Tell me again, HOW did they let you on the plane with this?

Joshua mastering his crawling - straight to Grandma without getting side-tracked!

Cuddling with Opa

Opa's fun to hang-out with!

Grandma holding Joshua and the beautiful afghan she hand-knitted for him

Four Generations of Kohls (including the pictures behind them)

Grandmotherly & Motherly Love

Welcome to the family, little Joshua!

And a chance for our family photo :-)

Just a Few of My Favorite Things..

How is a mommy to decide which picture, expression, characteristic of her precious child is her "favorite?" I've concluded that it's not necessary to decide such things with Joshua. (And this has nothing to do with my tendency to be indecisive or take a long time with things like deciding on which paper towels have the nicest pattern.) I hardly have any not-favorites with our sweet little guy!
Even changing his diaper isn't bad, as it's some of his most tender talkative times...when he's not trying to roll over and crawl off the changing pad (that's on the floor - thankfully!) Anyway, I'll spare you MY talking and let the pictures speak "a thousand words." Joshua's just growing SO quickly - even in this short time since we last posted. He's gone from scooting/creeping to actually crawling, he recognizes his name and totally grins when we say it, he's not quite sitting up but rather prefers half reclining to catch his breath while crawling. Every day is a new miracle and I thank the Lord with Joshua before I put him to sleep for the privilege of being his mommy and spending the day with him! I wanted to share a few pix :-)
Peek-a-boo Giggle Fest with Daddy

Woah! I just wanted to scoot over and grab that toy...now here I am on my back!

Taking an evening walk in the neighborhood - Joshua's favorite mode of transport

Yippee! I made it to the "frontier" beyond the blanket!

Almost sitting up - excited to have my alphabet puzzle that for now will be my springboard for jumping in my Jumperoo!

Chewing on my teething butterfly while Daddy eats his fajita for dinner

Caught "in the act" of CRAWLING!

Joshua had to be a part of the "action" and crawled all the way across the living room to "help" Opa and Daddy wrap his (soon to be born) friend's present

Joshua doesn't miss a thing - and is frequently mesmerized by mommy's strange, bright blue indoor-shoes - crocs! (I just have to keep him from chewing on them!)

Just takin' a break :-)