Leaving San Diego and Japan-7 months old

Maybe it was the short notice, or maybe it is because of the little life we have made here but I didn't think that I would be so upset when it was time to leave San Diego. Last year while we were in San Diego, I would cry because I missed the Seattle rain...now I am sad to leave all of my new friends. Sad to leave all of the fun things that San Diego has to offer. Yes, yes, a new journey is on its way...I am excited for Japan, just not in the way I expected to be. It was always a dream to travel to Japan. I guess now it is just a little more hectic, more of that "unknown" that scares me.  How will I make my way around town? Will our cell phones work? How will I be able to read the signs or read anything for that matter? How will we spend our days? Will I be incredibly isolated? I am just so worried about being in a foreign place and not being able to have the resources to function... I used to love that part of the "journey". I loved exploring; I love the unknown of a new city. However, with a baby its just a little more difficult. Ifind myself repeating, I am flexible, I am strong, I am brave...but I tend to keep going back to "am I enough?", "Will I be able to do it?" Well I will have to, and I want to.

If you haven't already heard, we found out a week ago that they are sending us home from San Diego early. We leave Friday, and Rob is supposed to start his training for our trip to Japan. They were planning to send us to Japan at the end of November; we were supposed to be there for 2 weeks, following which we would be sent back to Japan starting in January until the middle of May. (Robert has recently petitioned to stay in Seattle until the beginning of January to make it easier on our tiny family. We are hoping they honor his requests so we can hopefully get our house closed and at least partially moved in before leaving again.) It is all a bit stressful to say the least, and since we currently don't know our exact departure dates I am stuck "winging it"...again.... I know when we arrive I will be so excited. I am excited to meet new people, learn the language, and try new things. Although currently that excitement is just a little clouded, I know I will love it. I know it will work out. As long as I have Robert and Kora things will be just fine.

Kora is now 7 Months. These months just seem to be flying by. She is 12lbs 12oz and 25 inches long. She is quite the little lady. She now poops and pees on the toilet. She still uses her diaper sometimes and because she has a very limited ability to communicate, she can't really tell me when she needs to go. I usually just read her ques and give her as many opportunities to go as I can. She has even gone pee on the toilet when we were at dinner the other night! She is so so observant, loves to watch what we are doing and see how things work. She crawls, pulls herself up onto things, tries to stand up, sits by herself (still a little wobbly), and loves to snuggle. She shakes her head like shes saying "no-no" and she sometimes will wave hi-hi. She is one smart little bean and we absolutely love her!

We will post her 7 month pictures when we finally arrive in Seattle. EDIT: here are a few of her 7 month pictures!