Halloween night we had about 30 kids coming by, not as many as we expected. Emily and David had a wonderful time handing out the candies. We still have lots of leftovers after the Trick or Treat.
Last Sunday our little Princess Emily turned one! Happy Birthday Sweetie!!! I took Friday off so that we could take Emily to the Dallas Arboretum since Emily loves flowers, plants and leaves. The weather was so beautiful. Emily had great time patting the pumpkins, picking up the leaves, pointing to the flowers, and walking on the wet grass! Here are a few pictures we took that day:
Sunday after church we had a birthday lunch at home. Fang and Fred, Gayla and David, with their kids came over. I made Emily a sugar free banana cake with sugar free frosting because she hasn't really been exposed to too much sugar yet. David made the chocolate cake for everyone else. We had lunch first; then we played a Chinese game called "Zhua Zhou" (which means "pick at one year old"; people play it when the baby turns one year old). Basically we put all the props of different professions around Emily and let her to pick one to predict her future profession: stethescope for doctor; measuring tape for seamstress/tailor; mini soccer ball for athlete; calculator and mouse for engineer; cash for banker; crayon for artist; mini piano model for musician; microphone for entertainer/singer; pen for journalist; spatula for chef; etc. Emily looked around and went for the soccer ball at the first shot! Then she went for the mini piano. But the soccer ball was absolutely her favorite since she held it for a long time. Ha! We'll see whether she'll keep her interest in soccer ...
After the game, Emily opened the gifts and read the cards. She loved every single gift she received. After opening the gifts, she thanked everyone by her smiles to all:
Openning the gifts 
Reading the cards
Thanking everyone for the gifts
Cake time was absolutely the highlight of the lunch! Here are some pictures of her:
We were so glad that Emily had a wonderful birthday and enjoyed everything. She is looking forward to having a birthday follow-up with grandpa, auntie and uncle, Chloe and Sophia during Thanksgiving!
Monday Emily got A+ from her doctor again. She weighed 20lb (50%); her height is still off the chart 32 in. We were so proud of her that she really hasn't had any sickness during her first year. God definitely blessed her with an excellent immune system. We pray for His continued protection over her. Emily's new development includes pointing at things and sharing her food with David and me. She has eight teeth now so she's more efficient at chewing different food. Her vocabulary expanded to some Chinese words like "Ah Ya" "Nai nai", etc. But she really hasn't purposefully repeated what we say yet. Her favorite song right now is "I've got Joy Down in My Heart"; her favorite toys are ball, block, and stuffed animals; her favorite bedtime book is "Runaway Bunny"; her favorite snack is yogurt nipplet; her favorite words are "Dada Dada"; her favorite activity is walking; her favorite decoration is flower or plant or jewelry ... she is a typical girl!
Emily's birthday put new meaning on my understanding of my birthday. Starting last week, when I planned for Emily's birthday, I began to think "last year at this time I went to the hospital" "last year at this time we cried when the doctor told us we were having the baby today" "last year at this time we saw our princess face to face the first time" ... Birthday is not just about party, cake, gifts, friends any more. It's about the creation of our God, about our mothers who suffered for us, about the rush of love that the parents and the children have toward each other ... Emily's birth changed our life forever and we are so thankful that God blessed us with such a precious child. Thank you Emily for bringing joy to your mommy and daddy each day! We love you more than you ever know!
Here is a video of Emily sharing/feeding David her food (before I grabbed the camera, she's already fed David several puffs, grapes, etc. Sometimes she fed us with both hands):
Here is a video of Emily's favorite song "I've Got Joy Joy Joy Joy":
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