Nellie turned 1 year old

On July 21st, Nellie turned one year old. I can't believe it has already been a year. Nellie is a well traveled baby during her 1st year. I wanted to share with us a bit about her birthday day.

On Nellie's birthday, we spent some extra special time playing with Nellie. We wanted to wait until that afternoon to open presents, so we just played with the toys that she already had. Much to my surprise, Nellie took her first steps that morning. She was so proud of herself. She only took 3 steps the first time. I was so pleased!

Nellie has also discovered how to climb the stairs. We have to watch her pretty closely, because she has a tendency to just go on upstairs without anyone with her. This picture shows Nellie on the landing of the stairs between the 1st and 2nd floor. She was so proud of herself.

This next picture shows the playful side of Nellie. Once we spotted her on the stairs, she quickly tried to climb more stairs. I was able to catch this picture of her peeking back at me before BaTip (our helper) was able to catch her. It was a cute show of her personality. She loves trying to explore and try new things.

Nellie’s birthday gifts were abundant. She loved all the gifts that she received. This picture shows Nellie playing with her walker we got here. She love to put the balls in their spot, and the walker will play music for her when she does it. She dances each time she hears the music. She can also push the walker, and it will play music as she walks. She just grins when she hears it playing music for her. Nellie received many toys (telephone, ball, doll, walker, stacking rings, etc), and she also received many beautiful dresses. She really looks very cute in all of them. I am sorry I do not have pictures of each one, but I have a couple of pictures.

Now for the cake…. I made a chocolate birthday cake with a big red “1” on it. The one was made out of M&Ms (Nellie’s favorite).


Nellie loved the cake. This picture is the “clean” side of the event. Nellie quickly had her cake, and she quickly had it in her hair. It was a fun event. She wasn’t too worried about getting messy. She was more concerned about how much cake she could eat. I had to take her straight to the shower to get her clean. I love watching her get messy. She doesn’t mind feeding herself at all!!

So that's the story of Nellie's birthday for this year. She loved having a special time with her family. We loved watching her try new things. She is growing so fast now. She is a sweet little girl who loves to give kisses, and she loves to snuggle when she is tired. When she is playful she is very busy, so we have many baskets of toys around the house for her to play with. Nellie does talk a little bit, but right now she only speaks Thai. She understands English though. Whew! The words she is able to say are "Mama", "Dada", Maa (dog), ThaTha(Baby doll), maa(come), i thream (ice cream), bla (fish), kha (The end of hello in Thai), and I am sure there are more. She can also "wye" which is how the Thais great each other. She puts her hands together like she is praying, and she bows her head. The Thais love it!

Nellie has captured many hearts here. She is known as "Duekhatha" which is how you say Baby Doll in Thai. She has heard so many people say that she looks like a baby doll when we are out in town that she thinks its her name also. No matter where we go someone wants to hold her. Nellie has visited many kitchens in the restraunts we eat at, this is how the staff is able to meet the "Duekhatha" that has come to visit. I am going to get some pictures of Nellie with her friends so you can all see how she loves to go visiting.