Marika is just the cutest little baby doll!! She looks totally content and cheerful. I am sure she's like that all the time, right?

Masaki and Amanda,

She is adorable. It is amazing how much she has grown already. Time sure does pass fast!

Anthony

Amanda and Masaki,

Marika has grown so much. She's precious! Thanks for posting the new photos for us all to enjoy!

Thank you all for your comments. :) I'd have to say 99% of the time, she's a really good kid. Last night (when it was my turn to be up with her overnight), she actually ate at 4 pm, went to bed around 7 pm, and didn't wake up until 7 am (and then I had to actually wake her up a little). Amanda's jealous as to why I seem to always get the good nights. :D She doesn't tend to be very fussy - loves smiling at us and "talking Russian" as Amanda's dad puts it (making typical baby noises) when we talk to her. It IS scary though as to how quick she's growing up!

Masaki

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, I am VERY jealous as to why she sleeps so well when it's Masaki's turn to take care of her at night. But we are really lucky. She's a happy baby who loves to talk and smile. And thank goodness for my parents who take care of her when we work. Parenthood is amazing!

How can Marika not be a sweet and good baby..look at her parents!

THANK YOU for the new pix! She's adorable and you can see personality emerging! Am happy to hear all's well.

What a doll baby Marika is! LOVED when that "talking" started with all my babies. My own mother was the first to introduce me to that concept, and she would just sit there talking quietly until they finally answered! You are entering a great stage of infancy, Masaki and Amanda, where you finally start getting "back" a little! At 4 months, we could take Joanna on vacation to the best of restaurants and she would sit happily in her carrier seat for at least 2 hours! Enjoy it while you can, before crawling and cruising around the furniture begin....and that involuntary urge to MOVE will forever keep her mobile!

Yes. enjoy it while you can! We often wonder when we will ever get to enjoy a dinner without food throwing, arguments, etc etc. They really aren't that bad, just so darn noisy when all mom and dad want is a minute of solitude.

Ours really are great kids, but we also enjoy an occasional moment of "us' time too. We are going to the UNC-Wisconsin football game on Sat. and spending the night in one of my favorite places (Chapel Hill) :)

Anthony

I enjoy reading about the kids. They're all different. I could take Gina anywhere, anytime, a perfect angel. I couldn't take Jill anywhere, she was a wild child!! I often thought if Jill had been my first, she would have been my last! How things changed through the years....she's absolutely terrific now and we have many laughs about her toddlerhood!

Anthony I hope you have fun Saturday! Masaki, Marika is so cute!!

It's so much fun dressing them up and showing them off! Thank you for sharing her with us. Little girls are so much fun.

Thanks Marcie!

I am (Paige is an Alabama fan)really looking forward to the start of UNC's football season. We (myself and 2 friends I went to UNC with) have season tickets together. We enjoy our Saturday reunions, including the beer, food, etc.

Anthony

Ah, Anthony, there's nothing like college football in the South. How I miss it. In my former life, we went to all the Ga Tech games. During the years that GT was rebuilding their football program, I saw them loose in almost every ACC stadium, including UNC...more than once. Thank goodnes they are more competetive now!

Donna,

My friends and I often say that we go to the games for the company, not the football (unfortunately) in recent years.

We still have a great time even when UNC loses. Maybe one day the football will rival the basketball team (I doubt it)

Anthony

Ahem.

(hint, hint)

Yes, Please!

Betty

Is little fish in college yet? We're having memory lapse of what she looks like.

Heh. :) I've been taking more pictures with my digital SLR lately than with the camera phone which explains no recent photos. I've also been informed that the photo blog site that I'm using will now impose a 100 picture limit or I'll have to start forking out extra dough for storage space. Since I already have a separate home page, I'm in the process of moving the pictures over there to avoid running into the limit.

But I will add more photos ASAP. :)

Masaki

OK, photos have been added to our home page.

Some of these are old photos that all of you have seen before on the photo blog site but a lot of these are brand new. Please take a look. We'll likely be retiring the photo blog site at this time to avoid confusion.

Marika\'s web page

Masaki

Masaki,

Marika is adorable. She is really getting big. Thanks for posting the photos for her LCT aunties and uncles.

Betty

Nice photos' Maskai - Marika is beautiful. Love the captions too.

Marika is growing up! Your captions add to the pics. I like the smiling one. Thanks for posting.

Marika is such a doll!! Thanks so much for sharing these with us. - Michele

You are a wonderful photographer, Masaki. Marika is just growing up beautifully. What a magical time for you all.

I love little fish pictures esp. her "smiling" one.. what a little doll.

What fun! Thanks!

Oh, I want to kiss her all over her face! I've been kissing on my grandkids all day, so they stood in for little fish.

It's amazing how quickly time flies! I can't believe she's almost 4 months old! Our little fish is definitely a treasure and she can't wait to meet all her LCT aunties and uncles!

PS: Pam, what happened to your avitar?

Thanks all! :)

Masaki

(fast derail to answer Amanda)

The site that I used to host my avatar picture had a massive "hard drive fry" and won't be back. The picture was pretty old, so I didn't upload it anywhere else; I'll try to get a newer one soon.

Pam - hope to see your smiling face back soon!

Masaki

She's so,so pretty. Nancy

Ressurecting an old thread to post that new photos have been posted:
http://homepage.mac.com/amandaho/PhotoAlbum19.html

And now, for something completely different - Marika's 1st movie! This will require Quicktime for those of you that don't have Macs or don't use iTunes.
http://homepage.mac.com/amandaho/iMovieTheater21.html

Masaki

Oh my gosh, wait til Marsha sees the movie, she will go aunt bonkers!!! I loved the movie, it was almost as good as seeing Marika in person! She is such a big girl now!

Masaki,

Thanks, for posting photos! I can't believe how much Marika has grown. She is sooooo cute!

Betty

The pictures are great and the movie is darling. What a cute little girl. Thanks, Masaki.

She is absolutely adorable!!

Masaki and Amanda,
Thanks for beginning my day in such a darling way! Marika is beautiful! Her first movie is worthy of an Oscar! She's a sweet and dear little girl! Looking forward to more photos and movies!

Masaki,

Thanks for sharing. How cute!! I'm waiting for Marika 2, the sequel.

This was so much fun looking at Marika! She's a cutie pie and happy baby.