Happy First Birthday Qiu Qiu!

Last year our friend Jue and her husband, Chunpeng, had their first child-- Isabelle. Her nickname is Qiu Qiu (pronounced a bit like the train sound Choo-Choo, but prettier).

Tracy, Jue, and Chunpeng are all from the same home"town" (of like 4 million people) and they became fast friends.

Tracy and I were lucky enough to, with help from Mom, throw Jue a baby shower. (See picture at left where Jue is picking the best play-dough baby.) Tracy and I were even at the hospital with them during labor and waiting just outside when Qiu Qiu was delivered. I've hardly seen this bundle, but am tickled by her easy laughter. (The picture is of her at 4 months old.)

At any rate...

Happy First Birthday Qiu Qiu! May it be the start of many wonderful birthdays to come. We love you, Izzy-Bee!

Tracy has seen Qiu Qiu much more recently than I have and had these pictures and stories to share--She was most interested in the stairs in our place, and with Jue’s help, she can go up and down one stair each step. Pretty impressive. (You can see in one of the pictures)

Her second favorite item is Taro, but Taro was too scared to play. Qiuqiu poked Taro’s face, which taro took pretty well; and then she tried to put her tiny finger into Taro’s mouth (very brave idea), but was stopped in the process. Qiuqiu loves animals, and there is a story where she friendlily “kicked” Jue’s friend’s cat. Given the chance, I think she’ll dominate Taro too.

The third item that she enjoyed a lot was the combination of “Kyle + Kyle’s cell phone”. Smarter than Taro, when Kyle hid his cell phone behind his back, Qiuqiu was able to tell where it was and insisted on getting it from Kyle. Inexperienced with this situation (usually Taro needs further instructions to find something hidden behind our backs), Kyle let Qiuqiu play with his cell. She actually started to text something and would only take a break when the cartoon on TV has more intriguing moments.

Before obtaining the cell phone, Qiuqiu actually climbed on top of Mount. Kyle. (Kyle was lying on the floor, I guess it was at least a Hill. Kyle to her) Kyle was a little surprised but cooperated through the 30 second climbing process.

Qiuqiu crawls very fast, and when having something in her hands (Jue says it may be a balance thing), she can actually walk 7 or 8 steps. So if not being watched, she can move to the other side of our living room really fast. Oh, another funny thing, she doesn’t speak much yet but masters a magic word “Mama”, especially when she wants something, despite the specific items she wants.

She is also a very smart girl. She has a lot of tricks, such as mimicking the motorcycle, “welcoming” dance and fake sneezing. You’ll have to see it for yourself during thanksgiving.