More Pictures From My Birthday Weekend

After my birthday party was over on Saturday, I still was able to spend Saturday night and then most of Sunday with our guests - Xavier, Pop Pop, Grandma and Doe. It was a lot of fun. Sunday morning, I spent a lot of time learning how to take good care of my baby dolls. Grandma is watching me give my baby some milk while she sits in her stroller. I get very focused when I am doing this!

This baby doll actually cries and asks for her "Mama" (which is me). Every time she cries, I put her up to my chest just like my Mama does to me, and like Grandma did to her.

There, there baby. It will be OK. Mama will make it all better.

I also decided to take my new baby (unnamed at this point) to ride with me on my Inchworm. She really had a good time, and so did I!

I really had a great time playing with the helium-filled balloons that were from my birthday party. I have always had a fascination with balloons.

I especially enjoyed spending time with my ge ge (that's "big brother" in Mandarin), Xavier. He is so fun to play with.

Well, that's it for the pictures from Sunday. Mama has more to post at a later time. Upcoming posts will include: "Mei-Ling & Bandit" and one Mama calls "Toddler In Motion." And then we'll have even more from our Chinese New Year celebration which is taking place on Saturday, February 9th. Gung hay fat choy!

Congratulations To Brian & Glynnis!

Earlier this month, Mama, Baba and I attended the wedding of a very dear friend of ours - Brian. Mama and Brian worked together for a few years. Brian was the first man besides Baba and Grandpa that I ever let hold me. And I will never forget him saying "AFLAC" to me like a duck. But Brian decided to move a few months ago. Mama, Baba and I wished him well. Our wishes came true, because he and his friend Glynnis decided that they loved one another and that they were meant to be husband and wife. They are a beautiful couple, aren't they?

Well, I was a little sad. I love my friend Brian, and so do Mama and Baba. But we are very happy for him. Glynnis is beautiful and smart and just the perfect match for our friend Brian. Don't I LOOK happy (I am smiling on the inside, I promise)? OK, so I will admit, I am going to miss him while they are living in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Glynnis is attending medical school there. At least we can look forward to visiting them sometime!

The wedding was beautiful, and they plan to have a bigger ceremony on the island. But all that happiness and celebration tired me out. Brian, we will miss you, but we wish you and Glynnis the very best. We are sure that many blessings will come your way. Remember, we are just an e-mail away (and a Skype call).

Happy Birthday To Me - I Am Two Years Old!!!

I turned two years old on January 22. And we had a really nice party the weekend before my birthday. My big brother Xavier, my Grandma and Pop Pop and Aunt Doe were there to celebrate with me. Here is a picture of Xavier. He was as excited about my birthday party as I was! Here he is just before the party started.

And this is my Sesame Street cake. I LOVE Elmo. Big Bird is OK, but Elmo is my favorite character of all.

We started off with some pizza, which is one of my favorite foods (I am just like my Mommy).


And then it was time for the cutting of the cake! Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and I got to blow out my candles (with a little help).


Ooooh - I got to play with that Elmo car from my cake. And Big Bird too!


And I am trying to figure out how to manage all this stuff at one time. Cake, punch, my Elmo and Big Bird cars, and one of these funny things you blow into.

I still haven't gotten the hang of that noise-maker thing. I will be practicing with that all week.

And I am getting really good with using a "big girl" fork and spoon. However, this piece of cake is looking like it may not fit in my mouth. Hmmm....

So after enjoying the pizza, cake and punch, I opened my presents. Wow, this thing is called an inchworm, and Mommy said she had one just like that when she was a little girl (Note from Mommy - yes, the wheel had been invented back then). I let Baby Yang be the first one to test out the inchworm.

I also got a LOT of other fun things. I got a Hooked On Phonics "phone" that is teaching me more about the alphabet and how to say different words and sounds. And another thing I got was something I LOVE to play with every time I take a bath - tub crayons!!!!! Xavier helped me open all my presents. I love my big brother.

Aunt Doe bought me a new baby doll, a stroller for her, and a bassinet! The baby also came with a bottle of juice and a bottle of milk. I am learning to be a good mommy already. As you can see here, I am giving Baby Yang a bottle of milk.

I also got some really cool Elmo shoes! I don't want to ever take them off.

We had such a good time celebrating my birthday. I also got some pretty clothes for when Spring comes. But the best part was getting to spend time with my Mommy, Baba, Xavier, Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe.

Stay tuned, because we will be celebrating Chinese New Year soon! Gung hay fat choy, and hello Year of the Rat! We will take plenty of pictures of our local celebration.

My Second Christmas

This was my second Christmas with my Mama and Baba. And Grandma, Pop Pop, and Aunt Doe spent the holidays with us at my home. Santa Claus was very good to me despite the fact that I screamed when I sat on his lap earlier this month. I woke up to so many new toys on Christmas Day. (Side note from Mama - the keyboard was given to her last year but was not age-appropriate at the time, so "Santa" re-gifted it this year. Shhhh. Don't tell Mei-Ling.)

I really love this new keyboard! It plays songs by itself, but I can play some notes on it too.

And Santa brought me a really fun wooden activity center. It has alphabet blocks, an abacus, a maze, some gears that turn and a roller coaster on top! I love it!!!

Yep, these things turn! How cool is that?

Oooohhhhh. I love how these beads go around the roller coaster wire.

Santa also brought me some Elmo things. This is a pretend spray bottle to go with my Elmo broom and dustpan. I already love helping Mama around the house when she is cleaning! (Mama's thinking, "Please, please let this behavior continue through her teen years.")

I decided to take a little bit of a break for milk and cookies on Baba's lap. I'll get back to my toys soon. Oh, and this is my "quit taking pictures while I'm eating my cookie" face. Mama baked some sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles, and I helped put the sprinkles on them!

OK, back to business. What do I want to play with next? My Dora Lego set? My elephant shape sorter? My new flash cards? My Elmo cleaning things? I cannot decide!

Oh, you want me to pretend to spray you with this pretend spray bottle. Silly Baba, I know this thing won't really spray you.

OK, now what is so special about these Crayons? Oh - I see. They are bathtub crayons so I can color all over the tub. Awesome!

I think I want to play some music again. This keyboard looks vaguely familiar. Hmmmm. Maybe I played it in a previous life. ;)

We decided to sit by the fire and let Pop Pop take our picture. It's me, my Mama, my Baba and Baby Yang. We are a happy family. However, I am not happy about having my picture taken right now.

OK, Pop Pop is doing "take two." And no, I still don't want to smile. I want to do something else besides sitting here by the fire.

Well, it is nice and warm here. I think I'll hold my baby while Baba cuddles with me.

Now it's time for a picture of everyone. Here is Pop Pop holding me, Grandma, Aunt Delores and then my Mama and Baba. It was so nice to have them all here for Christmas!

And here's a nice picture of Grandma, Pop Pop, and Doe. They tell me over and over how happy they are to spend time with me. And I love them very much.

Baba has been pointing this "thing" at me all day, and now I see why. It's recording me! So that's how they get me on the television screen!

Well, Christmas Day is almost over. I had a wonderful time. I was surrounded by people who love me and by people I love. My Mama always says to me that I am the best gift she has ever received and that I am one of her greatest blessings. We are all happy that we found one another and have so much to be grateful for. And although Santa brought me so much to play with this year, I still love MY baby the most. Come here, Baby Yang, let me hold you for a while.

No Santa. NO SANTA. NOOOOOOO Santa!!!!!

This was my second year of going to visit Santa Claus. Mama and Baba talked about it for a few days, and I was very excited. We arrived at the mall and began to stand in line. Every time I saw a glimpse of Santa, I was happy. But then as we moved up in the line, I noticed that every little boy and girl who sat on his lap started crying. Why? What about this large, oddly-dressed man was so scary? Well, whatever it was, it happened to me too. I smiled until the moment Baba sat me on Santa's lap. And then, I just started screaming. Mama and Baba came over and tried to make me stop crying, but I just couldn't help it. So after about 5 minutes, they gave up and came and sat beside Santa with me. I look tired in the picture, don't I? How would you look after 5 minutes of screaming? :) Mama said, "At least we got a picture." And I do look pretty cute in that dress, don't I?

Stay tuned for more pictures from Christmas Day at our house! Santa Claus was VERY good to me this year. I might actually sit on his lap next year without screaming.

Sometimes, Pictures Are The Last Thing On Your Mind

We had a GREAT time at the Cone family Christmas party this year! At last year's party, I wasn't walking yet, and this year, I ran around the room and had a blast with all my cousins. Unfortunately, all that running around meant that it was tough to get any good pictures of me. Mama and Baba had a difficult time but did manage to get a few. Here is one of me and Mama. Something else had caught my attention, and nothing could get me to look toward the camera!

And here is one of me and my Pop Pop. He fed me lots of crackers at the party. I love crackers!

I also found a new friend at the party. A DOG! I chased the dog around the room most of the night and finally got up enough nerve to actually pet him! He is my new best friend.


I also ended up spending time with my Baba, of course. He fed me more crackers.


There was a lot more that we did at the party. I saw all my cousins that I already met last year and then met a few more this year! Mama has been coming to this same place for the Cone Christmas party every year since she was a little girl. I plan to do the same thing.

My Christmas Portraits Are Here

I am happy to share with you my 2007 Christmas portraits! They were taken at my school. I am wearing a beautiful dress and bonnet that my Mimi bought me last year that I have FINALLY grown into! I had a good time smiling for the camera and prancing around in my dress and bonnet.

And here is another nice picture. I am starting to understand this "picture taking" thing and will smile and say "cheese."

Stay tuned for more holiday pictures. We went to the Cone family Christmas party last night, so we should have some really good pictures from that to share soon!