Gemma's Baby

It's very cute how she plays with her 'baby'. She feeds it and gives it water, lays down with it at night. Until she gets bored with it and drops it on its head.

Music Festival

We were in Taichung all day Saturday for Music Festival and Gemma did very good. Thankfully Adrienne was there with the 9th graders and had time to watch her during my working hours, so that was perfect. She was not so good for my Friday night concert, though, and Daddy and herwatched Barney instead. Oh well.

There are also new park pictures up on flicker, in the April set. I'll post a few this week.

Ride your horsie!

This video is ok, she gets camera shy. But there are some good facial expressions at the end if you hang in there the whole way.

New Shoes!

Gemma has grown into her crocs (well, Dawgs actually, but same difference). Also found two pairs of sandals that fit now, so thats good. Ready for summer.

Cold!

So we are experimenting with things that are cold lately. She gets the different feeling of cold items and makes the surprised ooh! face when she touches cold things. Like yesterday we were playing with the cold milk cup right out of the fridge while she was eating her snack shirtless. She would put the cup right next to her bare chest and then pull it away and say oooh!. Then out it on my neck or arm, or belly. And so o and so on. It was pretty cute how she would hold it against herself for a few seconds, waiting for that tingle and then pull it away.

Today we went to Taichung to watch Seussical and well, lets just say if the 2 hour bus ride was any sort of foreshadowing for our long flight home, we are in big trouble.

And one more park pic, until we get some new ones off the camera. Biker chick checking her rear...

Bad Baby

So I got home at lunch and she had written on and in one of library books with pen. (My fault; I left both in easy access) The books she wrote on? "Don't make me count to three; a mother's guide to discipline." ha ha...

Animal Lover

Gemma loves animals. She doesn't know that many but the ones she does she points to all the time. Fish is her big one, 'cause she can say it. It's more of a f-sh sound, but when she goes into the science lab at school that's what she says. (cause there is a fish there). In her story books, who cares about the characters adn the plot, what matetrs is what animals are on the page. For example in her Bible Heroes book on the Adam page she first points to the fish, then the moneky, then the birds. Then the fish again for good measure. The its flip flip flip until we get the Joseph and the coat of many colours page. Why that page? Because standing beside Joseph is a puppy. And she points to it before the page is fully turned. I think its really cool how she she can find those animals in places she has never seen them before. Like we were walking home one day and she looks at the ground and says, fsh. So I look down and sure enough, imprinted on the metal man hole cover is fish. You can show her a book she has never seen before and she can find those animals. Last night at church she was pulling random books off the library shelf and she found one, I think it was the little mermaid, but there were so many fish on it she was in heaven. The picture above shows a mural painted on a wall near the park we like and she loves to go see the birds as much as she likes playing in the park. (She had great fun chasing a pigeon last weekend. He was just the right size and ability for her, too ;) And puppies and cats on the street, well she points and laughs.

She also loves leaves.

Speaking of vaccinations...

... I just saw an ad for the pneumonia vaccine. It's in the Finding Nemo font and it says Finding Pneumo. Hee hee.

There was a small baby who swallowed a...

stone. Well, I thought she swallowed as tone. She was palying with one of those decorative glass pebbles, and then I hear this faint 'click click', the sound of stone on teeth and so I grabbed her face right away to get it from her and...nothing! Her mouth was empty. Her right hand was empty. Her left hand was empty. There was nothing on the floor. I checked her mouth again. Nothing! I thougth she must have swallowed it for sure, but I had no idea how she got it down so easily. A is-it-worth-a-trip-to-the-doctor debate began in my head (all the moms at church were like 'it will go through, don't worry', but I wasn't so convinced.) Anyway, later I was cleaning up around that area and pheww, found the stone on the floor against the chair leg. Yay, close call.

Made it!

A successful trip was made to the doctor yesterday!
1) I made it to the clinic when they were open to get her health card
2) we found the hospital where they do the immunizations.
3) we found the right floor in the hospital
4) the receptionist was VERY helpful and helped me with all the forms, and led me to the different rooms
5) The doctor was friendly and spoke English and did what I think to be a throrough checkup.
6) I didn't lose or forget anything
7) Gemma only cried a little bit

And she got tp have two shots (oh goody, right gemma;) MMR and the first of her Japanese Enciphilitis. We go back in two weeks for the second one of those.

Weight 8.6kg (almost 19 pounds)
Height 76cm (29")

The doctor said she hasn't gained much weight since her last checkup, but is still ok.

So she loves her belly button, and loves to find it when you ask. It's really cute then when she is wearing one piece pyjamas and you ask her "Where's your belly button?" because she pulls up on her jammies (of course they don't go because they are on her feet too) and tugs and pulls and feels trying to find it. Ways to tortue a 1 year old.