ANNA - 1 YEAR

My first birthday was a big party. We celebrated it together with Mary, John and Ryan, who were with us for two weeks. I participated enthusiastically, even though I had no clue what the noise was about. I did not even realize it was about me. That did not stop me from celebrating, and sharing some champagne with my family. I love all drinks, as long as there is alcohol in them. Another genetic characteristic. The Uzbek champagne is not so good, unfortunately it is very sweet and tastes like lemonade.
Perhaps that was the reason that my father shook the bottle so vigorously, since half of the contents got lost. So now I am one year old and I still cannot walk. My parents are desperately waiting and trying, but I simply don't feel ready for it. And anyway, what is the hurry, I can still walk my whole life. You will not be surprised that I am also a bit lazy. On the picture you can see that my father's suntan is a bit better than mine. He plays golf four times a week, whereas I am not allowed to go into the sun.

 With Mary, John and Ryan, we had a very nice time and we made some trips to the mountains, and to Samarkand and Bukhara. Very interesting, the Silk Road, but there are so many buildings that I sometimes get bored and fall to sleep.
I also like to eat and try everything my parents and brother and sister do. And I don't need help, I can feed myself. I don't need cutlery either, what do you think God gave me hands for. Sometimes somebody tries to feed me, but I will simply spit it out. No need, I will eat when the time comes. So normally they will prepare a little plate for me from which I eat with my hands until I have enough. It just means, that my clothes will have to be washed twice a day. And the traces of irremovable food, like tomato sauce and strawberries, will stay on my clothes forever to remember me of those happy meals.

These days, I don't wear anything fancy anyway, since it is warm and sunny and fashionable clothes are uncomfortable. I prefer to run around in just a nappy, or to be honest, my mother wants the nappy, I think I am fine the way I was born.
I am a very happy girl, usually. What I like most is to hide myself in small places. A carton box, a kitchen cupboard, the wardrobe in the sleeping room. I even manage to crawl under a little table and then cannot get out any more. I am a real "fourth child" and I don't want to be left alone. I can play very well by myself but I always want to have someone around me. Actually, the more the merrier. If my mother leaves the room I scream like a pig, to see if she will listen and come back. No need to go to the office, she should better stay with me, exactly as my big sister told her the other day. "Why go to the office, Mam? Just stay at home and take care of your own children for a change, instead of someone else's."

It is too bad that Mammie's boss does not share the same view, actually, she has more or less an opposite opinion. But I do not complain, I see my mother often and my father even more often. And he loves to play with me. He always tells my mother in the evening how sweet I was again, easily forgetting my screaming, the things I broke and my dirty nappies. Well actually, I am sweet of course, a real daughter of my father.
Now it is June, and our garden is full of fruits. Raspberries and strawberries have already finished. It is time for cherries, sour cherries, apricots and plums. I love them. My parents love them too, and what they like even more is the liquor that they are making out of it. Our kitchen looks like a bloody distillery. And they will not even let me taste it. "No, Anna, you are too small for that." Too small, my $%?!!

In July, I made my second journey to the Netherlands. Fortunately, the weather was not too bad and we squeezed ourselves (after all we are six now) into my fathers old-timer and drove around to visit friends. The first trip we made was to the south of the Netherlands. Close to Maastricht, we visited friends that also used to live in Central Asia.

Their son is only a little older than I, so I enjoyed myself thoroughly. We went for a walk through Maastricht, which I liked better than my brothers, as I used my fathers legs.
Together with my grandfather and grandmother, we visited Archeon, were you can see how people used to live a long time ago. The boys loved it, but I thought it was quite cruel, especially the gladiator fights. However, I am sure I would have found Six Flags even more boring. Teletubbieland, that would be truly exciting!

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