Birthday Girl!

Today I had a birthday party at my aunt's house. There were lots of people there! We played a traditional Taiwanese game for first birthdays. All the guests brought something that represented a career and placed those items on the floor in front of me. For example, there was a paint brush for painter, a toy piano for a musician, an abacus for merchant, a kitchen tool for chef, a credit card (placed by my dad) for a wealthy spender, etc. The item I crawl to and pick up indicates which career I will go into in the future. At first I didn't understand the game and got a bit weirded out by all the people staring at me. Then I picked up the abacus and played with that for a while, but the item I really ended up playing with was the toy piano. This might mean that I will become a musician AND business woman! I guess this means I am really Chinese. It's time for violin lessons!

Yuck!

I have become a very picky eater. The books all say that it's very normal for toddlers to become picky. The funny thing is, I'm not a toddler yet! I just like to make these faces for my mom when she tries to feed me.

I'm Standing!

Today I stood up by myself for about 10 seconds! I was very proud of myself and kept clapping. I also played in the garden this afternoon and ate some grass. It was a good day!

Yum!

Today I ate with a spoon and got very messy. It was a good day!

Banana!

Today, I said "banana" at breakfast when I was eating bananas. Then I said "night, night!" to my dad as I was going to sleep. Can you tell I'm the daughter of a linguist?!

My Very Big Day!

Today I got a shot at the doctor's office. I whimpered but didn't even cry! Then, two more new teeth were discovered so now I have six teeth! I ate at a Chinese restaurant for lunch where the waiters played with me. For snack, I had coconut milk with fruit for the first time and loved it! In the afternoon, I was chewing on a pen that had a metal part on it and was running away from my mom because she was trying to take it away. I couldn't crawl fast enough so I fell. I got a lot of blood on my shirt and my parents took me to the emergency room. I cried for a while but when I saw so many new people at the hospital, I started smiling again. The doctor looked at my mouth and said I was going to heal fine and told me I was very brave. Then this evening, while playing with my dad, I threw up all over my clothes and my dad's clothes.

Quack!

Today, I said "quack!" when reading the Five Little Ducks. I've also been saying the "k" sound for "crackers" and trying to sign "crackers". Here are some other words I know: "dada", "more", "all done", "cat" (in Chinese), "clap hands" (in Chinese), "cracker", "eat", "nana" (for "mama"), "milk", "bye bye", and "potty".

Anja Loves Disco!

Today, I went to a dance party. At a real nightclub. In the daytime. With a real DJ and real dance music. It was called Baby Loves Disco and it rocked! Check out pictures of me and my parents on the dance floor. I even got up on the dance stage!






There were kids of all ages on the dance floor. They gave us shakers and scarves to play with while we boogied. I especially liked all the bubbles. Meanwhile, my mom went to the modern moms' lounge and got a makeover and hand massage. It was a great way to spend St. Patrick's Day!

The DJ was from KEXP, one of our favorite radio stations (www.kexp.org)




We shook our booties and saw our friend Cody and his family. We danced till we were pooped.

Luck o' the Irish

Happy St. Patricks Day! Here I am wearing green, which I know is not actually what they do in Ireland on this day but oh well. I am just happy to be part Irish! In fact, did you know that my name is actually Irish! (And Chinese and German, and Scandinavian – all of my heritages in one name.) My parents struggled with whether or not they should use the Irish spelling of my name, which is Aine. After polling a few people, my parents realized that no one outside of Ireland would be able to pronounce my name. So, they chose the Norwegian spelling of my name.

Happy Chinese New Year!

OK, Chinese New Year was a month ago but my website was not up then so I am catching up on all that's happened this year. This is the year of the golden pig and is very auspicious. We spent Chinese New Year in Taiwan which was very fun. In fact, we had been in Taiwan since January 6th and stayed until almost the end of February.

While in Taiwan, we attended my uncle's wedding, which was very posh. My dad played the flute with the quartet at the wedding then performed a duet with my uncle as a present to the new bride. The second picture is my dad with his flute while my uncle conducted. He and his wife are musicians. The next picture is the bride and groom. I was dressed in a Chinese dress with matching shoes and was one of the highlights of the wedding.





Chinese people LOVE babies!!! I got attention everywhere we went – restaurants, subway, trains, markets, etc. I also got to see a lot of great uncles and aunts and cousins, people I hadn't seen since my last trip to Taiwan, and got to show off how much I had grown. All the relatives LOVED me and gave me lots of red envelopes filled with cash as good luck. I am lucky to be part Chinese!! I then got to eat a lot of my favorite foods – noodles of all kinds (number one favorite!), rice dishes of all kinds, and tropical fruits like papaya, guava, rose apples, sugar canes, etc.

We then attended my aunt's wedding a few weeks later, which was also very posh. I was the flower girl/baby. Me and the bride had matching outfits – white dress with faux fur coat! I "walked" down the aisle with my mom and got a lot of smiles from the crowd.







Other highlights from Taiwan include taking the fastest elevator in the world to the top of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101. We also took the high speed rail to the south of Taiwan to visit my new friend Aliya, who is a few months younger than me. The last picture shows me and baby Aliya. In all, we had a great time and hope to do it again soon!

Me with my New Hair Clip

This is a picture of me with my new strawberry hair clip.

My New Tooth!

Today my fourth tooth came in so now I've got two on the bottom and two on top. I will no longer have a Jack O'Lantern smile. My parents still think it's beautiful though. Today I also had roast beef for the first time and LOVED it! This little piggy had roast beef!

My Wish List

Some of you have asked my mom what to get me for my upcoming birthday. This is a hard one since I am only one and am just as interested in boxes and gift bags as I am in what's inside the boxes and gift bags. So this means we will just be happy to see you come and celebrate my birthday. No gifts necessary!

After some thought we did come up with to a few things that I need so if you REALLY want to get something then here is a list.

• 4 Mother-Ease diaper covers, size large (www.mother-ease.com)
• Footed fleece or terry cloth pajamas, size 12-18 months
• Fleece sweatshirt, size 12-18 months
• Bumkins bibs that tie in the back and have sleeves
• Robeez shoes, size 12-18 months (www.robeez.com)

Welcome to my Website!

Hello everyone! Can you believe how fast I am growing? I will be turning one on April first, and that's no joke! A year ago today, my parents were having a good time in London. Little did they know how quickly I would enter their world (five weeks early!) or how quickly they would fall in love with me. OK that's a little too mushy.