Maia's 1st birthday

Maia had big plans for her first birthday: she wanted to have a big party with her cousins visiting from Austria, friends, etc. Well... as it happens in life sometimes, things didn't quite work out as planned - a tough lesson our daughter had to learn at the tender age of one. Instead of partying with her friends and family, she had to spend the day with a nasty guest no one invited: Mr. Stomachbug. What an unpleasant, unwelcomed visitor. Mama and Papa tried to make the day as much fun as possible, but how far can you really get with drops of Pedialyte and a Graham cracker crumb as birthday cake - the piece was big enough, though, to hold ONE candle. So Maia got to make a wish -our guess is, that it was something around never having to have such a miserable birthday again. Just look at the poor little thing with a high fever, trying to open her gifts. At least she had gifts... thank you, folks!

Vacation in Chile!

If Maia ever tells you that for her first vacation ever she went South, you better believe her. Waaay South. South of South America, all the way to Papa's Land, to the first nation in the continent to elect a woman president: Chilito lindo!

If you would ask us how good of a time Maia had, we would probably tell you that she practically bloomed down there -or at least woke up to an awesome world of colors and senses. She enjoyed both the great and glittering city, as well as the humble, gorgeous countryside; she discovered dogs and developed the skill of barking back at them; she dipped in the pool with a level 2 flotation device -as you can see in the picture above; she learned to drink juice using a straw, just like a fancy girl; she munched on figs from the freakin' tree and loved them! But, most importantly: she met all of Papa's crazy family and did not run for cover! Now, that's something.



To see the whole, huuuuge set of vacation pictures, click here!