There Will Be Balloons (or) A Fistful of Balloons (I couldn't decide which title to go with)

Some of you already know this (and thank you for all the sweet birthday messages!) but Flynn QiuQiu turned one year old today!

We started out the day at the playground for a little swinging.

Yup, she's still lovin' it!

Oh, by the way, she also started laughing out loud for the first time today. It's a wonderful sound and we can't get enough of it! Her daddy was the first one to get her to laugh aloud, by mercilessly tickling her ribs. She must have enjoyed the sensation, because she's been doing it a lot!


She also really likes it if there's someone there to kiss her face at the end of each arc of the swing...she really likes that.

Mmmmwah! Isn't it cute the way she puts her hand out to reach for my face?

Here she is on the bouncy-thing. Only trouble is, she likes to push off with her legs...and like everything else on her body, her legs are really strong. She almost pushed mommy over backward a couple of times (of course, mommy's a featherweight these days).

Balloons were, of course, inevitable.

We had them make a bouquet of them for us at the Sunflower market. As you can see, QQ can hardly wait to get her sticky paws on them!

Happiness is a fistful of balloons

After daddy went to work, we went over to LaoLao's house for icecream cake. And what a cake it was!

NaiNai trying to convince QQ to try the cake...mmmmmmmmm....good! Dripping with cream and peanut butter cups!

But QQ was still a little distracted by her balloons (which we brought down with us in the back of the car). Sadly, QQ likes neither solid food nor cold food, and QQ's mommy is temporarily lactose intolerant, so only NaiNai and LaoLao got to enjoy the cake!

QQ was not too proud, however, to indulge in the 1st birthday tradition of putting her hand in the cake and then wiping it all over her face. Hah! At least we accomplished that much!

The center of attention.

NaiNai Susan introduces QQ to the joys of a new entertainment center, which QQ proceeded to decipher at lightening speed!

Accomplishments: In two weeks at home, QiuQiu has learned to laugh, crawl (in her own unconventional way), stand up with only a minimum of propping, roll a ball back and forth with a partner (when she's in a good mood), play a shell game where she finds blocks or balls underneath hollow cups, sleep through the night (usually!), swing herself without assistance, reel things in on a string, and, occasionally, imitate. Pretty good for someone who's never seen the outside of an orphanage before, huh? Yeah, we're proud.
She's also put on some pretty good weight...apparently almost all of it in her cheeks! Her legs have gotten a little less skinny and a little more baby-chubby, but her tummy is still flat (must be all those crunches she does) and her waist and hips are TINY. If only we could all gain weight that way! Hah!