We are so enjoying this sweet little girl. She continues to smile hard and brighten a room. It’s especially fun because she is working on her 7th and 8th teeth, so seeing all those pearly whites makes her smile even more charming.
Martha is going through tough time of “hitomishiri”, which is basically meaning that she only wants her mom or dad wherever we go. It’s a little exhausting that she is so clingy, but sweet at the same time. She is certainly the most comfortable and confident with her own family and in her own home. Still, there are a few people who she sees often enough that she is pretty comfortable with and really enjoys. I love this photo of her with Aunt “Chi-chan”. Chizuka is one of our dearest friends here and such a joy in alll of our lives. The girls love it when she comes over on wednesdays to hang out with me, and when we get to see her at church and other events. She helped care for the girls during the play last weekend. Martha loved being with her and even fell asleep in her arms! What a precious Aunty!
Martha and Calvin continue to be good friends. They brighten up whenever they see each other and crawl right over to the other. The love to touch each others’ faces and are learning to be gentle. Aren’t they getting so big??
This is a little fried egg from Noa’s toy groceries. Martha is obsessed with it. As soon as she sees it, she popps it in her mouth and keeps it in forever. It is so funny to watch her going about her playing with this little white mouth. It’s even funnier that Noa did the same thing!
We just received ornaments for the girls from Grandpa and Sylvia. Martha’s is her first ornament and it’s for her first Christmas. We are so thankful that this season there are four of us celebrating together as a family and another little person with whom to share the beauty and glory of Christ’s birth. Here are the girls checking out the lit Christmas tree for the first time:
Martha was sick for several days this last month and, while I hate it when she feels rotten, it was a sweet time with lots of cuddles and rocking and lullabies. I love the excuse to drop other things in order to care for my babies when they need me the most and enjoy their sweetness. So this is how we two were most of the week, when she wasn’t sleeping. I loved it.
In other news, Martha is still taking her two naps a day: about an hour and a half in the morning and 2 and a half to 3 hours in the afternoon. She only sleeps about 10 and a half or 11 hours at night, and we are still working on her getting up at or after 7am 
Even when I cut back on her naps, she gets up early so we can’t figure out what to do. I guess she’s just an early riser like her daddy.
She still nurses three times a day and eats three solid meals a day. She loves japanese rice crackers and cheerios. We haven’t gone much beyond basic fruits and veggies with her so not much to report on that front. I tried giving her formula a few times just to have it as an option, but she wouldn’t have it. Oh well. I’m still counting on her weaning herself around when Noa did… at one year old.
Martha is at such a fun stage of talking all the time. She repeats a lot of the sounds that we make, like “go go go” or “mamama” or “dadada” or “ow ow ow”. She is quite the talker, maybe even more so than Noa was at this stage. She gives kisses about half the time I ask for them (the sweet, big, open mouth to cheek kind), and she signs “more”. She is constantly on the move, and always trying to keep up with her big sister. She can’t really stand yet, as she is always pointing her toes like a ballerina. Oh well, I am in no rush for that stage. Crawling is keeping me busy enough 
She is such a joy and it’s truly remarkable that even though it seems like we just “did” all this (not too many months ago) with Noa, that every stage is still such a thrill and joy to behold. I love seeing how she is different from Noa and the ways that they’re similar. I love how her little personality is coming out and charming us all. We are so blessed and thankful for this sweet girl!
I love that first picture! She’s so sweet! XOXO