Christmas Already?!

Christmas Tree is up!

We put the tree up a little early this year.  We usually do it the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year Saiya will be with Chris and his family, so we had her put the tree up this weekend with my mom.

It came out beautiful!  I can't believe it's almost Christmas already!!

Happy Halloween!

Saiya was dressed as the Grim Reaper this halloween.  I tried to paint her face white with black parts for her eyes and mouth to make her look more skeleton-like.  She didnt like it at all, so I took the paint off before we went out, which made her much happier.  My sister had my mom's truck and we pulled a small trailer around the neighborhood and we had about 11 kids with us for the night.  They ran around getting candy and a great time was had by all.  Saiya looked so cute in her black robe, but after the first house, she wouldnt carry her scythe so it was hard to tell what she was.

Roller Skating!

Last night was Family Fun Night for my work.  We went roller skating!  Saiya has been roller skating once with her school, but she was still nervous about going.  She did great!  She loved it!  After awhile, she got brave and stopped hugging the wall.  Next up... ROLLER DERBY!   Hahahaha!

A letter to Matteah (Wen Wen)

Saiya has been asking alot about her friends from China lately.  We think about them often and have tried to meet up with a couple of families here in the US who also adopted children from the same social welfare institute.  So the night before last, Saiya was asking about Wen Wen again.  I told her she should write her a letter.  So we sat down together and Saiya wrote her friend a letter telling her about her day, karate, and the new dog we are going to be bringing home in October.  Her writing and reading are coming along so nicely!  We are very proud of her.

I explained how addresses worked because she was concerned about how the letter would get to her friend.  She put our address on the return section of the envelope herself.  She drew a picture for Wen Wen and I added a few pictures of her from this year for them.  I contacted Wen Wen's mom yesterday and got her address so that I could put the letter in the mail.  Saiya was so excited to hear that her letter was sent and on its way to Winsconsin.  I sincerely hope that we can maintain a good friendship between the girls.  It is so very important for them to keep contact.  And I truly believe that it will enrich their lives as they get older.

Time Flies!

WOW! The summer has flown by! Monday was the first day of school for Saiya. We decided at the end of the school year last year to have her repeat kindergarten because we (and the teacher) felt that she wasnt mature enough for first grade. She understands all the work she was doing, but really wasnt independent enough for advancement into first grade. She wasnt happy about it, but she came home Monday happy to make new friends. She did great on her kindergarten readiness test and her teacher said that she has come leaps and bounds over the summer in reading. She has been working her so hard this summer, we are very proud of her!

We have decided to drop violin in favor of a second day at karate during the week. She loves it and gets so much more out of it than violin at the moment. Perhaps when she is older, we will revisit an instrument.

Let's see.... she went on a road trip to Mobile with my mom and dad. She had a great time! is doing much better at learning to swim. She is coming along with her bike as well.

Her physical appointment for school was about two weeks ago. Not much growth on the last year. Only a couple of inches taller. Currently, she weighs in at 34.5 pounds and is 43 inches tall.  Still too short to ride any of the rides at the theme parks.  Although she has gained 10 pounds and 7 inches since her clinic visit in China in Sept 2010, she is still a foot shorter than all of her classmates. We are so glad that she loves karate. She will need it as she gets older. I dont think she is going to ever be very tall.

left 2010

middle 2011

right 2012

Tae Kwon Do

Last week, my sister asked me to stop by the karate studio next door to Saiya's school and get some information for her son. He had done karate in Alabama and my sister was looking for an activity for him.  At the same time, Chris and I had talked many times about some sort of self defense class for Saiya.  She is very small and we know that it would help her confidence level.  At the same time, we want her to be able to defend herself as she gets older.

I stopped in there and by the time I was leaving, I somehow managed to sign Saiya up for Karate (technically Tae Kwon Do). The whole time we were there, she was crying and complaining that she didnt want to do it and it that she hated karate. The whole way home, she was in tears.

Yesterday was her first day. She was a little grumpy on the way there and even sad-faced when I was putting on her ghi. At first she was very apprehensive and shy, but she warmed up quickly. As the time progressed, she became enthusiastic and everytime she completed what they asked her to do, she ran back to her spot with a HUGE smile on her face. When the class was over, I asked her how she liked it, she said "I really really really LOVE it, Mommy! I want to go again everyday, all the days! How about we can come back tomorrow!?"

Happy Father's Day!

Like last year, this year we took Chris to SeaWorld for Father's Day.  It was extremely hot, but we had fun.  We wandered around, had some ice cream and looked at all the animals.  Saiya still loves the dolphins.  We could sit there all day and she would be perfectly happy.  When we went to see the Beluga whales, it looked like they were fighting.  Until we saw the male.  Poor whales have no privacy!  And all of the little kids were crying because the whales were "fighting" and the male had a "yucky long black thing sticking out".  Hahaha!  Too funny!

We even stopped by one of the shops and let her pick out something for baba as a special Father's Day gift.  I can't believe the difference one year makes!  It still amazes me at how adaptable she is and how easy going she can be.  All day long walking around at SeaWorld and not one complaint about the heat or anything.  All-in-all, we had a great day!