Happy Birthday Papa!

Dear Papa,

Thanks for taking such good care of me. We have so much fun together! Mummy and I love you very much! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Maia and Mummy

Ferry Building and popovers!

Oh, hello again! This is one more post to tell you about our trip to San Francisco. Our last day there, we went to the ferry building farmer's market and then to my Auntie Kristin and Uncle Rich's apartment. Auntie Kristin cooked up a storm! we had bacon, and more bacon, and these delightful popovers (which taste a lot better with butter). Uncle Rich cut these amazingly symmetric grapefruit slices. I think he might be very detail oriented. Papa showed me his friend "Norbert", who is a norfolk island pine that lives with Auntie Kristin. Norbert used to be very small, just like me.

We also got to see my Auntie Eunice and Uncle Jim. And, of course, my good friend Oliver! I was a little embarrassed because mummy had to loosen the waist straps on Oliver's high chair when I borrowed it. Hmm, maybe I should eat a little less "ba-pu" (aka, "pu-tao", or grape, which is my new favorite food). It was so much fun to play with Oliver and Lucy! I think mummy and papa really enjoyed seeing their good friends. I also have to report on how many new words I can say! At last count, I think I'm over 60 words, and mummy likes to point out that I can (sometimes) put two words together, like "ayi zao" (good morning, li ayi!) and "bye baby" (which I said to a 3 year old, who looked at me askance). I looovee to talk!

Here we are for a family portrait in front of the ferry building. You can't quite see it, but there's a gi-normous "pa-kin" (aka, pumpkin) behind us. Apparently, there is a picture of mummy and papa standing in front of this big pumpkin a few years ago, before I was born. Look how far I've taken them now!

Back to my old haunts

What's up? Well, some of you may have wondered what the long blog hiatus has been about. Well, some of it is that one of my editors is a little technologically-challenged. And the other one had been really hard at work studying for her boards. Let's just say we're all glad they are over. The good news is that Mummy took her Boards in San Francisco! Papa and I joined her over there after she was done. That's right, my brave Papa flew solo with me. Good thing I took it easy on him by taking a nap. I still think he sweated a bit. :)

I got to hang out in my old 'hood with Lucy Jiejie and her parents. We had a great time. I basically tried to follow her around and she was very good at giving me directions.

Here we are hanging out on the front stoop like real urbanites. I so dig the city.

Here's Lucy jiejie showing me the proper way to enjoy a Tartine chocolate croissant. Chocolate... I wonder what that is... Maybe when I get to be a big girl like Lucy Jiejie!

More pics from my visit with Lucy coming up. And then... my first encounter with something cold and wet and falling from the sky.

Where's Bamm Bamm?

OK, I'm trying to catch up for lost time. Hope everyone got some good treats for Halloween. Seattle has really pretty fall colors. I took a picture of it on my walk home. (This was of course, before our recent snowstorm - and before Papa wished he had access to Mummy Lei's leaf blower.)

For Halloween, Mummy thought I was the right age to be Pebbles Flintstone. I tried to get Oliver to be Bamm Bamm, but turns out he was already a cool pirate. O well, maybe another year. What do you think of my costume? I kind of dig the bone in my hair. :) I'm bringing prehistoric fashion back.

I had a great time for Halloween. I got to run around and dump out all the candy. Mummy was a little sad though since we only had 2 trick-or-treaters the whole night. And they were such polite kids, they only took 2 pieces of candy each. That left Papa with a big bowl, but I think Mama rationed him.

Gotta get back to my romping around the playground. I love it when I go up the steps and go down the slide. Wheeeee! Next up, Mama takes the boards and I build my vocabulary....

Washington to Washington Direct

Wow. There's a ton to catch up on. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We'll have to get to our ridiculous meal later. First I want to talk about how awesome it was to meet my great-grandma, Mummy Gyi. I flew all the way to another Washington, but it was a long ways away. I did pretty well on the flight, but my parents seemed happy that I had my own seat. Mummy Gyi and I had a good time. I was great at making her laugh.

She and I are a lot alike. Look how much she enjoys eating too!

I found out I come from a really big family. There were lots of new faces which took some getting used to. Luckily I know Mummy Lei well. Skyping her can be fun, but it was great to see her in the flesh. Here we are, empowered female representatives of 4 generations all on the couch. Let me ponder the possibilities.

Thanks Mummy Lei for such a good time in DC. Look how pretty fall is there!

Off to school

Mummy, Papa, and I are starting to really settle into Seattle. Can you believe we've already lived here an entire year? We've figured out our favorite coffee brand, our favorite pastry place, and our favorite playground. (Ok.. maybe MY favorite playground, but I drag my parents along with me every chance I can. Heh.)

I realize however that my parents don't have the close circle of friends we had in my birth city, so I've decided to force them out of their comfort zone a little bit. Here I am introducing them to some new friends at my swim class. I can be very charming as I explore the concept of buoyancy. Fascinating how light I can be in the water.

I also started taking a really fun chinese class with a lot of other kids my age. Really the class is for Mummy to learn some more... her chinese is what Lucy jiejie and I would refer to as "bu tai hao." While Mummy was learning, I was busy perusing the landscape and seeing what kind of snacks the other kids brought. Hmmm, kind of got me hungry just thinking about it.
Well, speaking of my eating habits, I had my 15 month check up! I am hugging along that 90% percent curve for weight. O yeah baby! I'm 26lbs 15oz (12.2kg) and 30.5in long (50%) with a head circumference of 48cm (90%). As my Aunty Chor Chiat says, that's a lot of cheek to kiss.

Well, I'll end with a little video of my guffaw that I've been perfecting. Feel free to laugh along!

I'm back!

Hey you! Have you been looking for me? Now that I've been so busy walking around, it's awfully hard to sit down and blog!

I've had some great friends come visit me. Lucy Jiejie and her parents and Aunty Kristin and Uncle Rich came to spend one weekend with me. We had such a blast! I was so happy to see them. Papa told me that the ideal ratio of adults to kids was achieved that weekend. I had to break it to him that he could technically be on both sides of that equation.
Here we are at Volterre for brunch... delicious!

Aunty Jessica and Uncle Patrick came over too! We went to Pike's Place and then the Space Needle one day! Here's our touristy perfect pic with the quintessential Seattle salmon!

I love visitors! Hope you all come back soon! I promise to flash you my pearly whites!

The Troll and the Sound

This past weekend, I spent time with my Uncle Andy. He and I took my parents to go explore a little more of Seattle. We went under this bridge to meet the looming Fremont Troll. He was actually very friendly with lots of visitors. At first, I was a little suspicious of him, but was reassured that Mummy was carrying me.

Before that, we had worked up an appetite strolling along the Sound at Discovery Park. I like taking Mummy and Papa for walks. See how I have to pull them along? Sometimes they can be kind of slow.

The view was so gorgeous. Uncle Andy took these shots with his iPhone. I wonder when Papa is going to get me one of those... I know I'm going to have to teach him how to use it.

Walking is a lot of fun, but I still need a single finger assist to do it. I'm happy to crawl all over the house now and am a little perplexed by these "gates" that my parents just put up.

Oh and special thanks to my Uncle Ming Wei and Aunty Peifen for sending me those CDs that I've been singing along with... "wawawawawawa" is one of my favorite happy bee songs. I don't think my editors have captured it yet on video, but I'll let you know when they do.

Have a great week!

Summer summer summertime!

It's been a couple of weeks my dear family and friends. Have you missed me? People around these parts will tell you that summer doesn't start until July 5th and that's exactly what happened this year. It's been a string of gorgeous sunny days and the sun doesn't go to bed until after I do. Mummy told me it was because the sun was older than me. I dig it.

Regardless I've been in a supergood mood. Check out all my teeth! My Gonggong came to visit me and took this picture. Thanks Gonggong!

Speaking of teeth, I've decided that biting my mama is not a good idea. Therefore, on my own accord, last weekend I decreed that I was done with breastfeeding. Funny how when mummy and I first started this thing, neither of us had a clue what we were doing. Then it became so routine, but now... well, I decided Mama, I'm a big girl now. You can have a little extra time in the mornings and evenings all to yourself! I think Mama is a little sad, but I'm trying to reassure her how much I still love her even though I'm growing up fast. I've even woken up in the middle of the night a couple of times this past week just so she can come hang out in my room. Isn't that reassuring?

I've also taken full advantage of summer by getting in the pool. When I went to go visit Aunty MC and Uncle Andrew in Vancouver, we got to use their pool, which was heated! Talk about fancy. It was so awesome since it was 100 times bigger than my bathtub at home.

Today I went into a wading pool with Mama and was a pro, splashing around and walking around to check out the other kids. Good thing I got so prepared at Aunty M-C's. I'm loving to walk, but need just that little bit of proprioception with a single finger assist. I am going faster and getting more confidence daily, but I think I'll hold off for a while on taking independent steps. Besides, I think it makes my parents feel useful.

Happy belated 4th of July everyone! I have been a busy girl.

Aunty M-C and Uncle Andrew came down from Vancouver to come see me. I got to pose for Uncle Andrew's camera. This is the look I get when I traipse around the down comforter. The bed is no obstacle course for me! The beginning of July also meant I had to say goodbye to Uncle Jeff. We've shared a lot of good times especially when my parents weren't around. He even taught me his favorite letters.

I hosted a little bbq for him and some of his friends. We had a plate lunch feast! There was so much deliciousness, but since I didn't get to try any of it, I just played with Uncle Jeff. Here he is trying to make me appear like a chubby bunny.

I did however notice these Diddy Reese like creations that Mummy made. I was a little jealous I didn't get to try them, but they looked a little big for my delicate mouth. Mummy has been a little over-excited in dusting off her ice cream maker. With all this delicious fruit around us now, I hope she thinks more seriously about canning so we can save the taste of summer.
Speaking of saved tastes, I hope Uncle JT is enjoying a nice Waiola's shave ice for me! I can't wait to visit him and Aunty Lynne again!

I also have world cup fever. Here's a little clip of me training. GO NETHERLANDS!

Papa Love

I'm such a lucky girl to have my wonderful Papa. I love spending time with him. He plays the violin for me, makes me lots of yummy food, and even lets me test him out as an instrument of percussion. Happy Father's Day to the greatest papa in the world. Mummy and I love you very much! Enjoy the maia original blueberry-peach cobbler!

1 year stats

I'm so enjoying being 1. Yes, that is a pair of lungs on my t-shirt. Did you know 2010 is not just a good year to turn 1, but it's also the Year of the Lung?

So, with turning 1 comes the need to be protected against measles, mumps, and rubella. It was not so pleasant... but the way I think about it, vaccines are a little bit of pain, for a lot of bit of gain.
Here's my 1 year banana shot. I thought I'd go for the dramatic look this time.

And here are my stats from my check up. Actually, since I've been moving around more, I think I may be slimming down a bit... shocking! I'm 23 lbs 7 oz (75-90%), 28 3/4 inches tall (25-50%) and head circumference 47.4cm (95-97%). My pediatrician is proud that I'm tracking very appropriately on all my growth curves.
Time for me to motor along. Lots of exciting things to see in the world! Babble soon!