A beautiful person needs a large beauty mark...

Hi everyone. Well, many of you may have noticed my rather large birthmark the runs up my right arm to my shoulder, neck and chest. It's called a "cafe au lait" spot, as it looks like a big coffee stain. Those of you who don't see me often may have never noticed it because Mommy tends to avoid posting photos where it's really prominent. It has become darker over the summer as I've become a little tanned. Mommy and Daddy have been getting a little concerned because it appears to be growing. So I had a nice visit to my pediatrician last week who refered me to a nice dermatologist. My pediatrician didn't think it was anything to worry about but did comment that it was "rather large". Here's a photo where you can see it really well.

Anyway, the concern is that an abundance of cafe au lait spots is an indicator of a rather nasty genetic disease called neurofibromatosis. I won't go into the details of it other than saying it involves skin tumors, bone growth deformities and learning problems. We haven't mentioned this concern to many people because we didn't want to get people (read: grandparents) worked up if it was nothing. And according to the dermatologist this morning... it's nothing. There's no indicators that my spot is linked to any other disease or disorder. So that's good news. The dermatologist did mentioned that my birthmark is rather rare and they don't see many like mine in size. He even consulted with another dermatologist while we were there. They feel that it probably just appeared to be growing because it's gotten darker in the sun. But everyone seems to agree that I'm just fine, and just blessed with a rather large birthmark. What can I say... a beautiful person needs a rather large beauty mark.

Feeding my addiction...

Alright... I think I have a small addiction problem. I may need therapy. It started out as something I just enjoyed occasionally. And then I had to do it at least once a day. And now I beg for it several times a day. Yes... I'm talking about my swing. I could spend all day in that wonderful swing watching the world fly by. And let me tell you, I get a little peeved if Mommy tries to get me out of my swing. Doesn't she know that I need my fix? And besides - it's educational! I've learned all about "near" and "far"!

Daddy swings me the best because he pushes me as high as he can (which is pretty stinking high). I just can't help but get excited about my swing!

Girly girl... or tom boy?

Hey everyone. I've been having a fun week although I'm STILL struggling to get rid of my cough. I've had it for over two weeks now and it's getting old. Oh well. This week I have been having a bit of a dilemma... am I a girly girl or a tom boy? Actually, I'm probably a little of each. I must admit that I have a "small" obsession with purses right now and prefer to have my pink camo print purse with me when we go out. But my purse keeps sliding of my shoulder so I have to walk around with my arm straight up in the air, which gets tiring.

On the other hand though, I sure like to explore outside and get dirty. Notice in the picture below that the sidewalk is completely dry, except for the one puddle that I found and decided to sit in. I was just checking to see how durable and stain-resistant my nice, new white pants are. I was also test-driving the Uggs that my Grandpa and Grandma van Riessen bought me. They make me feel "out-doorsy"!

Life is a stage...

Hi everyone! Well this weekend I made a great discovery... A table turned upside down becomes a perfect stage! In a show of amazing strength, I flipped my craft table over yesterday and quickly found out that I had created the perfect stage for me to perform in front of my captive audience (a.k.a. - Mommy & Daddy). I broke out all of my best moves including my dancing...

somersaulting...

and kicking...

And for my grand finale, I poured my water bottle out onto the stage (much to Daddy's disapproval).

A visit to the Discovery Center...

Today was a fun day. Mommy and I went and checked out the Discovery Science & Space Center. It had all kinds of hands-on exhibits that I loved. AND we just happened to show up when it was time to feed the animals. Lucky us!

The Discovery Center had a bunch of exhibits on wildlife and on space exploration. But the best part was that it was totally geared to "people of small stature" - like me! They had all kinds of things to touch and play with, and an entire book corner I could look through. I loved that part. I particularly loved the "electric ball" (see bottom picture) that shot lightening into my finger tips and the "Jacob's Ladder".

A special shout out to Mommy who had her birthday yesterday and officially turned "thirty something". Daddy treated her like a queen for her birthday. He got up extra early and made her french toast, but not before realizing that we were out of eggs - forcing him to make a trip to the grocery store at 6:30 in the morning. What a nice guy... I hope I find someone to marry as wonderful as him. And then he took both of us out for sushi that night. And I got vegetable tempura! I guess Americans aren't the only culture that like to deep fry vegetables!

Everyone is falling apart...

Well, the title of this post says it all. Everyone is falling apart. Mommy is getting over a cold. Daddy has a sinus infection and had to go on antibiotics today. And the arrival of my molars (2 down and 2 on the way) has been compounded by the cold that I have contracted. We are still unsure as to whether I gave the cold to my parents or they gave it to me. Either way, we're going through a lot of Kleenex in this house. And then today I fell a few times and added two goose eggs and a scratched up nose to the mix. People are going to think I'm an abused child...

BUT, amidst all the health issues, I'm still finding time for fun. I've been learning more and more sign language lately, and I'm now able to say "more", "all done", "eat", "bird", "dog", "fish" and "cat". My spoken language is a little more limited with "mama", "dada" and "bye". And I've finally learned how to blow kisses. I quite enjoy this move because I can blow kisses to people I don't know very well and avoid the "stranger hug". I've also been really getting into my books lately. I particularly like to take them all off the shelf and spread them out all over the floor. That way I can read multiple books at once!

And of course, there's always Mommy lurking around corners with her new camera. Yesterday I modeled the cute outfit that Nani and Papa bought for me in Vietnam. Mommy said I looked like a little doll in it!

Anyway, that's the latest from Sacramento. Hope you're all doing great!

Some insights on life...

My first State Fair...

Hi everyone! Boy... did I ever have a great day yesterday when we went to the California State Fair. It was fantastic and there's so much to tell you about. First of all we went to the Kiddie Park, where there were all kinds of fun rides. Some of them seemed mellow enough for me to be on, but when Daddy and I got to the front of the line, they said that I had to be 36 inches tall (and I'm only 31 inches). That was a bummer, but Daddy made it up to me by throwing some darts to win me a stuffed Elmo!

Then we went to visit the animals and I got to go in the petting zoo! At first I was a little scared about getting too close to the animals, but I quickly got the idea. I got to pet goats and sheep and a pig and even a deer!

After that it was lunch time and we decided to sample some fair food. For those of you who have never been to a state fair (i.e. the Canadian contingent), let me tell you about it. They take everything you could ever imagine, dip it in batter, and fry it up. They had all kinds of fried veggies including artichoke hearts, asparagus, and even avocado. They had all kinds of fried meat including frogs legs and a chicken sandwich that used a Krispy Kreme donut instead of a bun. They even had dessert, including deep-fried Twinkies, Oreos, and cheesecake. But the one I still can't figure out was apparently new to the fair this year... deep-fried Coke.

After lunch we took the monorail and got to have an aerial perspective of the entire fair grounds which was fun. And then we toured some of the indoor exhibits, because it was stinking hot out and we had to escape into the air conditioning. I got to meet some old friends of Mommy and Daddy... the Storm Trooper & R2D2!

But the grand finale was when we ran into some friends from church who had entered a Crowing Competition (yes, that means crowing like a rooster). They convinced Mommy that she should enter too. Maybe they shouldn't have, because Mommy and I won FIRST PLACE! Okay, there were only three people/teams competing, but we still won! Mommy called it the "baby factor"... bring a cute baby up with you and everyone will cheer and vote for you! They gave both of us official California State Fair first place ribbons!

Anyway, I LOVED my first fair experience and didn't fall asleep in my stroller until the moment we walked out of the fair gates. It was too exciting to sleep! I can't wait to go again next year!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Hi everybody! I was reflecting on my blog, and realizing how blessed I am. I have it really good. I've got a family who adores me, friends to play with, God who watches over me, and all the good eats a person could ever desire. So today I'd like to highlight a few of my favorite things.

#1 - Food. I'm what Mommy likes to call "a good eater". The only total aversion I have is to meat, making me pretty much a vegetarian. But Mommy gets me lots of protein with beans and cheese and eggs. And VERY occasionally she lets me eat a special treat... like this HUGE sucker!


#2 - Sleep. As some of you may know, as a small baby I was kind of "anti-sleep". But now, I love to sleep (unless there's people over and better things to do). I do tend to wake up in the morning a tad grumpy (just like my Mommy), but after my naps I wake up soooooo energized! Mommy often find me running laps around my crib or using the mattress as a trampoline!

#3 - Friends and family who love me. I have the most amazing family and a whole church full of little friends close to my age. And whether they're here in Sacramento, in another part of the state, or in another state or country... it's so nice to know there's so many people out there who care about me. Here's a picture of me playing with my friend Abby who's only 2 days older than me!