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!

5 hundred 25 thousand 6 hundred minutes

in five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, a year in the life?

Can you believe I'm a year old already! At 6:30am on my birthday, Papa woke up Mummy and said, "wow, 1 year ago from this moment, you were pushing." Nice flashback, Papa!
I have to say though, this has been the best year of my life! OK, so I don't have much to compare to, but what an adventure life is. I'm a far cry from the newborn I once was. I'm cruising with the best of them and pull myself up every morning in my crib before I give my parents a wake-up yawp.
Let me take a moment to thank my parents for being such troopers this past year. I've really taught them the ropes of parenthood. I know they've been through a lot, making a new place home and starting new jobs. They're tough cookies. Let's see how they withstand something I like to call "toddlerhood!"
Ok, time to share birthday pics. I have to thank so many of my friends and family for sending me many presents. I really feel the love.
Here are some highlights from my little party:
I like balloons, but mainly because helium is the 2nd element on the periodic table. (Aunty Jas taught me that.)

Uncle Andy bought me this special party hat!

I raised the roof with some of my guests...

...while Mama did the cooking. We had a major spread. Special thanks to Aunty Lynne and her mom for making special sushi you see on the left hand side. Also want to give a shout out to Aunty Nan for my octopus hotdogs. You can compare pictures... the nori faces on the ones below really add some special oomph, but mine were fun too.

Aunty Lynne hanging out in the poang!

And of course... cake time! Mama made me a special ricotta cake with my favorite blackberries and peaches in a whipped cream frosting.

It's kind of fun to have just 1 candle on your cake. I hear it only goes up from here. Now let's get down to business!

One relatively clean before shot...

And after! (before Papa took the cake away from me so some of the guests could have cake before I really had a chance to get into it.)

Here are a couple of the birthday recipes:
Birthday Ricotta Cake
(which I believe has been adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter and sugar a 9" springform pan.
Mix 1.5 lbs of ricotta, 6 egg yolks, 1/4 cup of flour, 6 Tbs sugar, zest of 2 lemons, and 1/4 tsp salt until smooth.
Whip 6 egg whites + 6 Tbs sugar until stiff.
Fold 1/3rd of egg white mixture into the ricotta mix, then fold in rest.
Bake for 1 hour until golden brown and set in the middle.

It comes out puffy, but sinks as it cools so don't get disheartened. Mummy frosted it with fresh whipped cream and blackberries and peaches which I adore!

Herbal ice tea
(Click here for original recipe from Ina Garten)
4 lemon tea bags
4 hibiscus tea bags
(Celestial seasonings as Ina uses are wonderful for this, but I've had trouble finding "red zinger" any more. Apple-raspberry works well as does mango black tea bags from Trader Joe's)
Steep in 4 cups of hot water.
Add 1 can of frozen apple juice and 3 cans of cold water. (sometimes I stretch this out a little more if I'm making for a big group.)
Very refreshing over ice!

Hanging with Owen & Aki

What's up? I think I could really get used to island life. Sun, shade, sand, shave ice, spam, ... aren't those the 5 S's?

I mean really, check out this view! This was from a very child-friendly hike we went on near Aunty Nan and Uncle Mike's home. I rode up in style while Papa pushed me. It was so relaxing to take in the sights.

I had so much fun with Owen and Aki. We got to eat breakfast every morning which meant that I had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd breakfast even. Hmm.. perhaps I over-ate in Hawaii. Guess I was thinking I should go all out if I end up buying a Muu-muu. I didn't though. I'm trying to grow up fast moving around lots and imitating the big kids. I reached for my cup as soon as I saw the big kids doing it.

Owen + Aki + Me = 3 kids, and Aunty Nan + Uncle Mike + Mummy + Papa = 4 adults. Why were the adults always so tired if they outnumbered the kids? Silly adults. I mean how much trouble could we get in?

I miss Owen and Aki already!! Mummy, when are we going back?

Aloha!

We're back from Uncle Jeff and Aunty Lynne's wedding. It was my first long distance flight. I was so excited I couldn't sleep! But of course that meant that I wanted Mummy and Papa to keep me extra entertained. I think I heard them talking about not being quite ready to handle a trip to visit my Jiujiu sometime in Taipei. Hmm... perhaps I should have rethought my plane behavior.

We were so lucky we got to spend time with Owen and Aki and their parents while we were in Hawaii. We did so many fun things... I'm going to have to talk about vacation in a couple of posts.

First off.. let's talk about some of the things we ate!!
MALASADAS! Ohhh.. Leonard's Bakery.. especially the puff filled with haupia.. warm and delicious. Mummy got me my own unedible version, but I was quite content chewing on it with my 7 teeth! I'll have to show you later.

Hank's Haute Dogs of triple D fame. Can you see the glee in Mummy's eyes? Kind of funny to watch her. They were not large, but very satisfying and full of flavor. The Lilikoi lime soda looked so refreshing... if only I knew how to use a straw!

And of course, no day would be complete without Waiola's! Ice cream and mochi balls topped with finely shaved melt in your mouth deliciousness. With all the excitement going on, I kept falling asleep before I got to try. Wait a minute, did Mummy and Papa go 3 times to Waiola and didn't wake me up? Luckily on our last day there, I managed to stay awake and try some of this deliciousness for myself. A little cold so I made a face, but otherwise I kept eating.

I'll post some more pictures later with my pals Owen and Aki. Stay cool.