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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