Birthday and Stairs

Evan celebrated his first birthday on February 7th and had a big Luau (40 guests) last Saturday. Here's a picture of me helping Evan blow out the candles:


Here's a cake-eating picture from the Luau:


Evan got a pile of gifts despite strict instructions to the contrary, and many remain unopened (mainly because I want him to pace himself). Evan got to interact with some kids, who attended, and he really played well with Alexander, a boy one month younger. Looks like there are some play dates in the future. Evan also got to meet a 5 year-old who was also born in Vietnam.

Last night, at a friend's, Evan had a great time clomping around the wooden floor in his somewhat oversized sneakers. This was the first time he walked in hard soled shoes and I thought he would trip but he did not. In fact, he was wobbly in his soft soled shoes this morning. Anyway, he amazed me climbing up and especially down the stairs. He walked all the way down the stairs carefully holding the rail and taking one step at a time. I have no idea where Evan would have learned to walk down stairs. He seems to be skipping the whole stage of going down backwards.