Helena masters the spoon...

weekend pics

Helena loves books. Mostly, she loves pulling them off the bookshelves. But she also loves 'reading' them, too...

Hanging out with the family...

when is the snow going to end?

something fishy...

Back at Discovery World to see the fishes... Helena was more interested in the kids running wild than the fish tanks...
Ah, here we are, happy in Daddy's arms...

NOOOO! give me back to Daddy! I want DAddy!

Helena learns to use cutlery

well, sort of.

First birthday...

Helena was born one year ago! It was a hard year for her, to be separateed from her birth mother immediately, spend three months in the hospital, four months with a foster family, and then the past five months with us. She's a tough little cookie, though, and thus far has pulled through all of it in high spirits. We are so lucky to have her- I still sometimes can't believe that she was entrusted to us. Our lives now utterly revolve around her.... Happy Birthday Helena!

Some quick facts about our big one-year old:

- She isn't walking, but crawls like a demon and loves to stand up...

- She has eight teeth (four of which just came in, ouch)

- She has lots of hair, and has had one haircut - I've decided it'll be bangs, as her Daddy won't usually allow barrettes for fear of choking...

- She sings alot, and likes to do duets with us

- She sleeps erratically- one night there won't be a peep, and the next she'll be up every 20 minutes, all night long

- She loves carrots: pureed, warm, frozen, however...

- She lives for puffs

- She still wants her pacifier whenever she is sleepy or scared - and the only one she likes is the one she came with, in Taiwan.

-She doesn't much like soft toys or stuffed animals, but loves hard, bangable toys or shapes, and anything that makes a noise

- She is a big girl - in 80th or 90th percentile for height, and wears 18month clothes...

And with that update - here are some pics from her birthday weekend!

On a walk at the farm:

the birthday girl at her party:

Violet ate cake voraciously, but Helena was very moderate and fastidious...


Such a Daddy's girl these days...

Choosing the objects that represent a career... Helena chose crayons (for 'artist') and Violet chose a Buddhist prayer spinner (for- we're not sure...) Enjoying her presents...

Queen of the party...

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