Mayumi, taking a cue from her older brother, has now also learned how to say 'I want this one' (in English and in Japanese - again, she has to cover her bets). She is now one and a half although she thinks she is the same age as Paul (or maybe a little older. When you ask her 'What's your name' she responds with 'Mommy' or 'Mama' - although we think that's just her way of pronouncing her name). She loves to talk. The amazing thing is, we actually understand most of what she's saying. And if we don't, she makes sure we get the point - by doing such things as taking the TV hostage. She does this by turning off the TV and standing in front on the remote control infrared port until we come to grips with whatever it is that she is demanding. She is also a thrill-seeker. One of her favorite things to do is to grab a toy Paul is playing with and run for her life. But she and her brother love each other to death - or at least until someone gets hurt and comes crying to mom and dad.

Mayumi, what's your mommy's name? Mommy (wav,22K)
Mayumi, what's your daddy's name? Daddy (wav,22K)
Mayumi, what's your brother's name? Paul (wav,33K)
Mayumi, what's YOUR name? Mama (wav,22K)
Mayumi, what do you call anything you stick on your finger? Puppet (wav,23K)
Mayumi, what does a cow say? Moo (wav,33K)
Mayumi, what does a sheep say? Baa (wav,33K)
Mayumi, do you like anything better than mommy and daddy? Barney (wav,39K)

Every time Mayumi would fire up her Playskool 133 MiniHz PlayPC and start surfing the Net, she would eventually end up on the family home page and inevitably shout "Da gwah doo dee!" (Dad, that look's nothing like me). So we finally took an updated picture. Here she is about 9 months after the home page picture was taken: lot's more hair, a few more teeth. (Notice, especially the two lone bottom ones. When she smiles that wide grin of hers these bottom teeth stick up like the teeth in the mouth of a jack-o-lantern. This, coupled with the fact that her hair has a slight orange tinge, explain one of her nicknames: pumpkin head. For the explanation of her other nickname, see Nontan below.)

Mayumi is no longer a baby. She is now a toddler - ie, one who toddles. I believe I have figured out where this word 'toddle' comes from. Mayumi likes to babble incessantly - so you might say she likes to TALK. She also likes show off her walking ability - actually at this point her walk is a bit more of a WADDLE. TALK + WADDLE = TODDLE. There you have it.

The other thing Mayumi really gets into is eating. And when I say 'gets into', I mean that literally. Here's is how she eats a meal. Throw the fork on the floor, stick your hands in the food and start shoving it into your face. Much goes into the mouth, some goes into the nose, and a bit goes in the hair. When you decide you are finished, flip your plate onto the floor and any food that is still on the tray clear away with your arms using a windshield wiper motion. Quite an exciting dining experience for the whole family.

This is Mayumi's favorite character - Nontan (pronounced NOWN-TAHN). Nontan is very popular children's character in Japan and Mayumi has a series of Nontan books which she received from Ojii-san (that's Grampa, with a capital 'G' - in Japanese). Not only does Mayumi like to pick up the books and babble incessantly (ocassionally uttering a word which - to discriminating parental ears - sounds very close to 'Nontan'), but this character kind of looks like her. Notice the similarities:

• The width of the head
• The spacing of the eyes
• The position of the eyes relative to the forehead
• The grin

The other similarity is behavioral. In Nontan's groundbreaking book - Nontan Oyasumi Nasai (Bedtime for Nontan) - Nontan decides that he does not want to go to sleep and would rather stay up all night playing with friends. However, all of Nontan's friends have already gone to bed and the only one awake is Mr Owl (appearing here by special permission from the Tootsie Roll folks). After spending a harrowing night playing hide and seek with Mr Owl, Nontan decides it is better to sleep at night. Mayumi, unfortunately, has yet to figure this out.