8 January 2010 - Xuan's 1st Birthday

Today Xuan turns 1! I can’t believe our darling baby is already 1 years old. Time flies, I remember holding a tiny delicate newborn in my arms (oh, so carefully as she was so fragile I was afraid I would hurt her). And now, look at our adorable, energetic girl with her head of black curls and impish grin and that mischievous sparkle in her eyes! This still tiny girl who makes my heart stop with a spontaneous hug or kiss, or when she flings her whole body onto the bed for fun!

We had a simple family dinner at a Chinese restaurant to celebrate Xuan’s first birthday. H’s mom and dad came, and so did my mom and sister. Xuan behaved very well during dinner, she entertained us by playing peakaboo with her hanky and posed for photos. She ate all her porridge and a good bit of our dinner too. She gobbled up some of my rice, with steam fice and soft white tofu. After sitting in her highchair for more than an hour, she got bored entertaining us and decided she wanted to get down for a walk. Luckily we managed to book our own room at the restaurant so Xuan could walk around and around our table, hanging on to my hands.

Back home, she opened her presents, and as predicted by H, Xuan showed more interest in the box the truck came in, instead of the actual truck from her Po Po and Yee Yee! As it was well past her bedtime, we quickly took some pictures of her lovely birthday cake, sang Xuan’s first birthday song and cut the cake.


Oh, Xuan’s birthday cake was a beautiful one layer carrot cake with 6 banana muffins (Xuan loves banana) prettily decorated with flowers, and of course the “No. 1” candle for her 1st year.


Here are some pictures from Xuan’s first birthday:
 

Xuan's 1st Birthday Cake

"Happy Birthday Baby!"

Xuan opening presents

Month 12 Milestones:

Weight – 8.0 kg

Height - 73 cm

Xuan can pull herself to standing, stand by herself and walk by cruising. Xuan loves to wear shoes, she even wants to wear her shoes in the house. She will fake cough when she hears my mom cough. She used to say “Om Ma” when she was 9 months, but has since stopped saying that. She can say “nana” when she sees banana, and occasionally says “Buh-NA-NA”.

She can understand and sign the following words / actions: pain (pat side of head), sleep (put hand at side of neck), star (open and close both palms held up), elephant (pat ear), clap hand, friend (pat someone on the shoulder), wash hands (rub hands together), rub tummy with oil (rub hands together), socks, shoes (point at feet), and clap hands.

Birthday girl in her pretty dress