David, Grace, Sarah and Emma Bellis

Grace & I will be at Zentro's (above Airport Express) by appx 6:45 this evening. Hope to see you there.

Emma is one today.

Here she is at breakfast admiring her birthday card & new Piglet from Nana.

And here she is at this time last year!

Yesterday saw Sarah on duty as part of her kindergarten's welcoming committee. Each morning several children stand outside and shake hands with all other pupils as they arrive.

It's not something I'd heard of before, is it a common practice?

Also we had a bit of a muddle in communications. I thought I was supposed to accompany Sarah and join in the welcome line, which I did, and had a wonderful time. Though about halfway through I realised that A) there was only one other parent present, and B) they weren't in the line. Ah, what the heck, noone asked me to leave so I had a happy quarter-hour spent kneeling down and wishing each new arrival a cheery "jo san" (good morning).

Here's Sarah's favourite teacher, Luk Lo-si, just before the crowds arrived.

Sarah enjoyed it. If she ends up with a career as a politician, we can blame it on this.

I walked into the living room yesterday to find Emma shouting on one side of the room, and Sarah looking rather downcast on the other. When I asked Sarah what had happened, she struggled for a while to get the right words, then tearfully told me 'Emma eat me all up'!.

That evening Grace told me the full story she'd got from Ching-ching - Emma had been trying to 'walk' past Sarah, holding on to the edge of a shelf. Sarah had objected, bumping her back with her bum - so Emma registered her disapproval by biting her. Grace then admitted that she also had a reputation as a biter when she was little. Can Emma claim she is a victim of her genes?