Happy Birthday Me!

I turned 1 year old on January 9th! We had a small party where I got to try my first birthday cake. Mom made a no sugar one just for me. I wasn't too sure what to think at first, everyone was watching me and there was some weird mushy blue stuff on top. I played around with it for a while then Dad helped me taste it. I wasn't a big fan of the blue stuff but I liked the cake part okay. I wasn't very messy either. I only got one hand dirty.
See my before and after pictures?
Dad also helped me open my gifts. I was very happy to play with all of them though. I love the big boy car I got. I can ride it up and down the hallway!

Honk! Honk!

I know what you're thinking...this must be a blog about cars. But no. It's the strangest thing, noses actually honk! It's true. For the past few weeks I've been fascinated by noses so I pull on them every chance I get. And they all seem to make a different honking sound. When we're on the train I even try to honk strangers noses' so my parents can't sit too close to anyone.
I think I like Dad's nose the best. He shakes his head from side to side while his nose honks and then I shake my head too. It's very fun. My parents like to ask me funny questions that require a "no" answer so they laugh when I shake my head. Mom says, "Do you like Daddy more than Mommy?" Of course I shake my head "no". Then Daddy says, "Do you want Mommy to hold you?" Of course, "no" again. Oh, what fun this game is...

Next stop...Mt. Everest!

Over Christmas break I went to some open gyms with Dad. When the boys were playing I kept trying to crawl onto the court. Then I discovered the ball basket and so, well....I decided to climb right in!

I'm a big climber these days. I can get up on the couch after a few grunts and strains. I also try to climb up my changing table and crib (Mom's glad I'm not climbing out of it yet). Just give me some time!

Merry Christmas!

Santa sure does come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. After my first encounter with that guy I decided to stay far away from men in red suits! Mom and Caitlin weren't afraid though.

I had a great Christmas! My Adams' grandparents even got to watch me open my gifts on the webcam.

I got a cool basketball hoop that I love to play with, a cell phone, a see-n-say, some stuffed animals, lots of clothes and books. Yes, all of these are nice but Uncle Timmy and Aunt Connie (my friends here) got me the best gift ever....a box of Cheerios! I tried to open my gifts but when I lost interest Dad just stuck a Cheerio inside the paper and I tore into it! I just can't get enough of those.

Hong Kong Sights

Wow, it sure has been a while since I've blogged. Ever since the earthquake hit in Taiwan, Mom and I haven't been able to get this blog to work. Well, a lot can happen to a guy in a few weeks. First, my Herzog grandparents and my cousin Caitlin came to visit me for Christmas. It sure was fun to have a full house and guess who was the center of attention! We went on lots of adventures. Here are a few pictures I was able to upload:
We went to the waterfront and saw all the tall, tall buildings, then we made our way to The Peak and saw the city from way up high.

It was a little windy that day so I snuggled up real tight to whoever was holding me.
Then one day we went on a hike to Monkey Mountain. I had a picnic in the park and had lots of fun watching the monkeys run around.


Another day we went on a hike in a place called Sai Kung. We had to walk up lots of hills...luckily I got to ride! Then we made our way to a beautiful beach. I didn't play in the sand but I still had lots of fun .
I was so tuckered out from all the hiking that I took a little snooze on the way back. Daddy is so comfy.

I also went to Ocean Park and saw my first "snow". Okay so it was 70 degrees out and the snow may have been coming from a machine... but snow is snow right?! It was really crowded there but I managed to see the pandas, flamingos, other birds and a huge aquarium filled with tons of sea creatures. I really liked watching the fish swim by. Unfortunately those photos won't upload. By the end of the day mom and I were exhausted so we went home while everyone else rode the rides. We decided to bypass Hong Kong Disney because we had had enough of the crowds for one week.
Stay tuned, hopefully I can get some of my Christmas pictures up soon!

All I Want For Christmas...

...Is my two front teeth,
See my two front teeth!
Gee if I could only have my two front teeth,
Then I could wish you "Merry Christmas"!

"Oh Christmas Tree..."

"Oh Christmas Tree...." I love to pull your ornaments off! A couple weeks ago Mom and I set up my very first Christmas tree! Okay, so maybe it's not a "real" tree and it's a little on the small side, but 750 sq. ft is not a lot of room to work with and my toys take priority anyway. Real trees are hard to come by and very spendy since they are imported. None the less, I had fun watching Mom put the ornaments on and then when I got a closer look I had even more fun pulling them off!

11 months!

I turned 11 months old on December 9th! I am learning something new every day. Some of my new tricks include grinning really big and wrinkling my nose, making funny face expressions, blowing out food when I'm eating, devouring Cheerios, flirting on the buses and trying to walk on my own. I can stand up all by myself without holding on to anything and I can take a couple of steps before I fall. I am quite cautious, I always make sure I can grab something...or at least try. I love to hold Mommy's hands and walk that way too and Dad puts my feet on his and walks me up and down the hallway. I giggle and then try to jump up and down. When I get really excited I kick my legs as fast as I can.
...So back to the Cheerios~a few posts ago I wrote about practically choking on one so I wasn't about to try them again but at my playgroup (that I go to occassionally...it's right in the middle of my morning nap so we don't make it very often) all of the kids were eating them. Most of the kids are just a few months older than me. Well one of the moms gave me one and I loved it! Suddenly I didn't care about the toys anymore, I kept following her around and she kept feeding me. Ever since then I can't get enough of those things. If I had my way I'd eat them for every meal. My parents make me eat my fruits/veggies/meat first though so I eat that as fast as I can. After my meal I get a few Cheerios. And I don't just put one in my mouth, I can eat 2 or 3 at a time...yep, talented huh? When I start to get full I start feeding them to my parents and they love them too! I like to give them the broken ones. Lately I've been real sneaky...I pretend to give them one and then all of a sudden I pull my hand back and eat the Cheerio myself instead and then start laughing. Mom says I'm teasing and I get the biggest kick out of it. Want one?
Just Kidding! Ha ha ha!

One of my favorite things to do at home is play with the curtains. We have sheer ones and even when I'm behind them I can still see out, it's so cool!

You know it's officially winter when...

DOGS WEAR COATS!
The other day when mom and I were heading out for a walk we saw the funniest thing! Our village dogs were wearing coats!

Mom gets fussed at quite often for not dressing me warm enough these days. As we go on our walks we have to pass by the village grannies on our way to the road. There's no way around them and usually I love to smile and cut shines for them as they pat my hand and say, "be be, be be". One lady says, "good boy" and another says I'm "beautiful". Well they were all out there in their stocking caps and gloves when we walk by and they started shaking their fingers at mom and rubbing their arms motioning "cold". Did I mention it is still 75 degrees and sunny?! Mom just smiles and pretends not to understand. They must think she's nuts!

For our walks we usually go up to The Wishing Tree and look at fish and parrots. I like the fish but those birds make the most awful noises! When they are quiet I love to look at them and watch them move but when they start squawkin' I nearly jump out of my stroller!

Last week I had a close encounter with a dog. I actually love dogs. I have a little blue puppy that I sleep with, a big St. Bernard that I give all my hugs to and a little St. Bernard that I love to carry around with me. Whenever I see a dog outside I reach for it and grunt like I want to go see it. Well, there happened to be a nice yellow lab running about with his owner and mom decided to push me close so I could see it better. Wouldn't you know it that dog came right up and licked my face! Now I said I liked dogs but that was a little too close. Immediately I started crying and mom had to pick me up. But then we knelt down together and pet the dog and I felt a little better. Mom was afraid that I might be scared of dogs now but a few minutes later we saw another one and I was reaching and yelling for it again. Dad says when I get bigger we can get a real St. Bernard! I can't wait!

Beware of the guy in the red suit...

That's right people, this "Santa" guy is one scary dude! So what if he brings you presents, I'm not sittin' on his lap, no sir, nuh uh, not me. My day started off fine, we were strolling around the mall looking to spend some gift certificates before they expire when Mom suddenly has this good idea of getting my picture taken with Santa Claus. We walked through a little place with Christmas trees and Angels and then out of nowhere there he is...the guy in the big red suit (and he's not even Chinese)! Mom plops me right down on his lap and I couldn't jump back in her arms fast enough. I clung to her like a koala then reached for Dad to save me from that scary guy. So away we went to take my picture with a less scary piano and a giant Christmas ball. Don't ask me why, it was included with the Santa pic.
So I thought my holiday adventures were over when my parents brought me back to that scary guy again! At least they sat with me this time but I still did not like that guy one bit. No cookies for you! Thank goodness we don't have a chimney (I heard that's how he gets in!)

Yeah, Dad's back!

For the past week Mommy and I have been on our own. Dad went to Cambodia with a group of students for a service project. We missed him so much but he's home now! Mommy and I met him at the airport today and boy was he glad to see me (and Mommy too I guess). I gave him the biggest smile and hug ever! Thank goodness this was his last trip (without me at least).

We took a double-decker bus and here is a cool bridge we went over.
When we got to the airport there were tons of kids waving flags awaiting Dad's arrival...ok so maybe they might have been waiting for someone else...

Here I am reaching for Daddy when I first saw him. It's cool just to reach with one arm (two arms seem too sissy).














I sat in Daddy's lap for the whole taxi ride home and gave him lots of snuggles and nose honks. He says that I've grown so much in just one week. I love my Daddy so much!