May 31, 2026- Hana’s two bottom incisors, the “front teeth”, are out from under her gums. Her Dad was the first to do the honours of “brushing” them with a soft cloth, this morning. Her parents find that all the other milk teeth (“baby teeth”) are under her gums. They will appear right on schedule, it seems. The process this time was fairly quick, in terms of the discomfort she felt. She likes her yellow teething ring and would massage the eruption area with her fingers, when it got too uncomfortable.

In another month, we should see the two top incisors, with all the rest coming in by the time she reaches the age of two. If the first eruption is any indication, Hana will call attention to the arriving teeth and try to provide her own soothing, while gratefully accepting comfort from her grown-ups.

She is very chatty, and among other things, will hold her cloth book that features a few zoo animals and begin talking aloud about what she sees. This is her mimicking our read alouds, of course, but we acknowledge her efforts and show that we take her speech seriously. She is also eating pureed foods-having taken some rice porridge, zucchini and sweet potato, thus far. The last one is her favourite. She is relatively neat about it, and tries to hold her own spoon, with some success. I will need to help her practice that skill, this coming week.

With both parents having to go into their employers’ offices, five days a week, I will shoulder a large part of her upbringing, over the next year or two. So, many milestones will be chronicled here. It is probably going to be the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had.