Baby Ais's first 'thank you'

A small thing, but Umi thought about it all day. I gave Baby Ais a slice of banana. Before I could even say "what do you say?", she'd already beaten me to it: "ankyu."

I never taught her formally. It's just that every time Abi hands me something, we say "thank you" in front of them. Every time. Turns out they're watching. Always watching.

A two-year-old is a master mimic. They don't do what we tell them — they do what we do. Good manners aren't a lesson you teach; they're the air a child breathes at home.

No gift a parent gives a child is better than good character.

So if Umi wants Baby Ais and Baby Mo to grow up grateful, my job is simple: be the person who says thank you the most in this house.