Kadoorie Farm

Today mom and I went on an adventure to Kadoorie Farm and Botannical Garden. This is the place with the giant pigs! We saw them first and I was trying to perfect my piggy snort but mom said I sounded more like a lion. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures...














Shortly after we arrived we took a shuttle bus up to the very top of the mountain. The views were amazing and periodically we got to get out and walk around. I had fun smelling flowers, throwing rocks and running in the grass.



















I also met Kwun Yum, The Goddess of Love and Compassion. I was way more interested in my cracker though...







This journey took so long I fell asleep on the way back down the mountain so we didn't get to go see the rest of the animals. Dad said he would take me back there soon.

Hike to Bride's Pool

On Saturday I got to go on my first back-pack hike! We took a bus out to Tai Mei Tuk and then a taxi took us up to the trail entrance. We hiked up to see a waterfall and a place called Bride's Pool. I had fun giving Daddy hugs and bouncing to make him go faster.
When we got the the waterfall I got to play in the water because I had my new sandals on! There were thousands of tadpoles everywhere and I had fun watching them swim.
I didn't sleep the whole time we were out on this trip. There was just too much for me to see! I went 7 whole hours without a single wink of sleep. I was a real trooper.

Waterfront Park

The day before Dad had to go back to work my parents took me to the Tai Po Waterfront Park and boy was it fun! My favorite thing to do was smell the flowers and I had to make sure mom got a whiff too! You can see me pushing her head close to the flowers.

Girl Germs!

Today mom and I went to the park as usual but this time there was a little girl there by the name of Cassidy. Sounds harmless enough right? Let me just tell you what happened...

Everything was going well, I was running around laughing and playing and mom was blowing some bubbles for me to pop. Well, Cassidy wandered over to us and she was quite fascinated with the bubbles. I guess she also took a liking to me and she started hugging me! I was okay with this at first but she just wouldn't stop! And mom was no help because she was laughing so hard. Her mom pried her off a few times and I kept furrowing my brow at her but what can I say, I'm a handsome guy, why wouldn't she want to hug me? You can't blame her! Well, then I was minding my own business and she came up behind me, wrapped her arms around my belly and held on. Of course we both fell over, I bonked my head and we both started crying. (Just for the record, I was more startled than hurt.) Well from then on when I saw her coming I ran!
I'm just not ready to be tied down. I hope I don't have "cooties" now.

15 months!

I am 15 months old today! Time sure does go by fast. I am doing all kinds of new things these days. For starters, I've graduated from walking to running. I mostly like to run from mom when she tries to put my clothes on me in the morning. There's just something so free-ing about being in my diaper.

I don't have to go in for another check up until I'm 18 months old so we're not sure exactly how much I weigh or how tall I am. I've gotta be gaining weight though because I eat like a horse! If I'm not sleeping, I'm eating. We have to go outside and play a lot or else I would eat all day long. The kitchen is my favorite room. I know the food lives in there! When I get up from my nap I always reach for the kitchen first. Some of my favorite foods are cheese, blueberries, dried apricots, apples and prunes, rice cakes, toast, eggs, and dad's pancakes! On Saturdays he makes me really cute teeny tiny pancakes. I of course devour them.

Even though I am already a great communicator, I am learning some sign language to tell mom and dad what I want. So far I've learned "more" (this is essential when my food runs out) and "please"...sort of. For that sign mom says I am suppose to pat my chest but instead I pat hers, or dad's, whoever is closer. They just laugh at me. I can also sign "crab", "lizard", and "crocodile". I'm a big animal lover.

I say lots of words these days. (At least my parents understand me.) My favorites are: cheese, blueberry, banana, apple, ball, balloon, birds, go, woof, keys, shoes, socks, ears, and cracker.

Another fun fact about me is that I am a clean freak. Somehow the recessive genes of my parents got passed on to me. When I am outside I pick up leaves and throw them away. If they are on park benches I pick them off one by one and make a neat pile. If I fall down and my hands get dirty I ask mom to clean them right away. Also, at home when I am done eating I always take my bowl or plate to the kitchen and put it up on the counter. And after I get my diaper changed I like to take it and throw it away. Mom says I'm a good little helper, I say someone's gotta do it!

I still give the sweetest kisses too. However, mom and dad are always giving me kisses so sometimes, when I am in the pouch with dad and mom is walking beside us, I will take his face and shove it over to her to make them kiss. Mom thinks dad put me up to this... but I swear it was all my idea!

Well, that's all for this month! See you soon!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

The Easter Bunny delivered me a special package via Grandma and Grandpa Herzog last week. I got some cute clothes, a puppy, a bunny cup and some chocolates... but I think mom and dad devoured those before I had a chance.




I wasn't a big fan of the weird green Easter grass or those silly bunny ears. They didn't stay on long.


Today after church and my afternoon nap I went on an egg hunt! Mom and dad weren't sure I would know what to do but I surprised them! As soon as they handed me the basket I took off right away and found all of the eggs and plopped them in my basket. I was a pro! I was having so much fun mom kept hiding the eggs over and over again for me to find them.












Each time after I found an egg, I would look at my parents and put one hand up in the air like, "Are there anymore? Where are they?"





I think maybe I will go on an egg hunt every day!

Hong Kong Railway Museum

Today mom and dad took me to a train museum! It was a lot of fun to walk in the old trains but my favorite part was picking up rocks and throwing them on the tracks.


























Mom and I love having daddy home with us. He's on Easter Break and this year he got 2 weeks off!
We've been having so much fun playing together, I will miss him when he goes back to work.

My First Easter Party!

I had a blast at my first Easter Party! Last week one of mom's friends organized a great party with tons of kids. First I went on an egg hunt. It was fun to pick up the eggs but I wasn't sure what to do with them. I found 3 (with a little help from mom). Rumor has it there was some candy in those eggs too but I didn't see any of it....Mom?


























After the egg hunt I got to dye some eggs. I really got in to this! I loved to dip the egg holder in the colored water. I even tried to taste a little but mom nixed that idea.














Next I (well, okay it was mostly mom) decorated a paper egg and made a tissue paper cross craft.

I might have CHICKEN what?

CHICKEN POX! That's right. Yep. Uh huh. I got em! Well, maybe. Sort of. Kind of. I dunno. You see, 3 mysterious red dots showed up on my face the other day and we don't know where they came from. A lot of my friends here have had them recently but I haven't been in contact with them latley. Plus no one knows if they itch me or not. (I'm not sure I know how to scratch yet.) So it's a mystery! If they are the pox it's a really mild case and I'll consider myself lucky!

Mrs. Lam's Garden

Mrs. Lam is my downstairs neighbor. Even though we don't speak the same language we get along great! She is always outside cleaning or tending to her garden and every time I walk by I stop to play with her. She takes me around and shows me all her pretty flowers. She even lets me pick needles from her trees but I don't really like to touch them that much.

When I'm done playing she helps me walk up the stairs and I say "bye bye" to her. She is lots of fun!

One bad thing is that I accidentally broke her Snoopy garden figure. I love to carry that thing around but this time I dropped it and Snoopy's tail fell off! Dad super glued it back on but the next day I she let me carry it again and what do you know, that thing slipped right out of my hands again! This time Woodstock popped off! Oh dear. Sorry Snoopy... Now my parents are on a hunt to find a replacement...maybe they'll get 2!

My First Chore!

Even though I am only 14 months old, I have my first chore! I LOVE to help with the laundry. Mom has never been this caught up before because I insist on doing at least one load every single day. I take all the clothes out of the washer one by one and walk them over to either the drying rack or the dryer and throw them in. Then when they're all dry I take them out one by one and throw them inside so mom can fold them. She likes to fold, I like to unfold...she says it's a vicious cycle, whatever that means. If we don't have any clothes to wash I go into mom and dad's drawers and start taking the clothes out myself, who cares if they're clean already, I want to do another load! Here I am working away!

14 Months!

Hi Everyone! I'm 14 months old already. Here I am sporting my new cheesy smile. I can grin so big my eyes disappear!

I am a big boy now that I can walk everywhere. The only problem is the evenings when I get a little tired I tend to get a little clumsy also. My parents have to keep a close eye on me. So far no major bonks. When I do fall down I'm mostly concerned about what gets on my hands. I do not like fuzzies or anything to be on my hands. When I find one I say, "ooh ooh" and give it to mom right away. Same goes with crumbs, little pieces of paper, leaves, anything. Dad says it's okay to get dirty but I do not care for it one bit. In fact when I'm eating if anything gets on the corner of my mouth I wipe it off right away.

I am such a love-bug these days giving kisses to mom and dad. I even say, "mmm" as I lean in for the smooch. It's quite cute I have to admit and my parents can't seem to get enough of my sugar!



I tried my first lemon yesterday and it wasn't half bad. Mom was ready to capture my sour face but I just turned a little and then wanted more.

I love to play with my stacking cups. When my parents build towers I roar like a lion and knock them over.


This picture captures my "ooh-ooh" face. Mom and dad took me to some grass to play on and everything was great until I fell down and actually touched it. I did not care for it one bit. I was real careful not to fall down anymore.

I have been an amazing sleeping boy lately. I still go to bed at 7:00pm every night but for the whole week I've been getting up at 9 or 9:30! Plus I've also been taking longer naps during the day. Mom thinks I must be fixin' to grow. Whatever it is she better enjoy it while it lasts!

These shoes are made for walking!

Okay so about a month ago I took my first unassisted steps, 7 of them to be exact. Then I took a break. I proved I could do it and that was that. But yesterday I got that itch to take off and boy did I. Mom took me to the park and I walked all over the place. Today she actually caught it on film.