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!

Immersion School Finale

Yesterday was Saiya's cultural finale for her Chinese Immersion program at school.  The show lasted about an hour and was unbelievably cute.  All of the kids  (1st through 4th grades) did an amazing job and I was really impressed with how well the language development was coming along for all of them.  Saiya has been practicing her songs and reciting her lines for the last two months.  I'm so glad she did such a great job!  Good to know the months of her singing "God Bless America" were well worth it.  She had such a great time and did a great job.  She is so proud of her chinese heritage and I am so glad that she is putting so much of herself into this program.  She will be repeating kindergarten next year because we feel she is not quite there socially yet, but that just means the work next year will be much easier for her and she will begin to excell in areas where she is sort of struggling now.  Regardless, this program is accelerated for her grade already.  She has been doing first grade math since the beginning of the year and she has come so far with her letters and reading.  We are always proud of her and continue to be amazed at how quickly she is learning and adapting.

Get Fired Up

Last night horse was cancelled due to rain and bad lightning, so I took Saiya to Get Fired Up in downtown Melbourne.  It is a place where you pick a piece of ceramic pottery and glaze it yourself.  She picked a very cute little heart-shaped box to paint.  I had a bowl with kitty feet on it.  She had such a great time painting her pottery!  It was a great way to spend a rainy Tuesday night.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday was Card day and I found some left over thank-you cards in the junk drawer. I had Saiya sign her name under where I had written "thank you for all you do". We made one for each of her teachers.

Yesterday was candy day, so I took some left over candy from Halloween and Christmas and made little goody bags for her teachers.

Today was flower day. Saiya was supposed to bring flowers in for her teachers. Well, I don't get paid until Friday and truthfully, didnt have time to get to the store to purchase flowers for her teachers. So, this morning, we made these for her teachers. So much better than store bought, I think! Saiya liked them and I thought they came our really well. We didn't have any construction paper and no glue, so we inprovised. Like them?  Who knew such pretty things could be made with soda boxes and packing tape?  We added a bit of curling ribbon to make it more 3-D and Saiya signed her name on each under a little heart I drew.

I will be very lucky if i can make it through the rest of this week without spending a dime on teacher appreciation. :) tomorrow is "Bring in a School Supply day". Might be in trouble for that one.

Violin Recital!

Saturday was Saiya's violin recital.  We went out shopping for new shoes and even spent the day together.  We got pedicures together and had a very nice lunch at her favorite Chinese restaurant.

She did a great job!  I had to hold her notebook for her to read her music from and she even did a little curtsy at the end.  She was very nervous, but muddled through "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with only a few squeeky notes here and there.  Overall, a great job!  Some of those kids are so talented!  I can only hope that Saiya sticks with it for years to come.

Sad Decisions

After many hours of long discussion and several days of mourning, we have decided to cancel the adoption of our second daughter, Xylie Austin.  This was a heartbreaking decision for our whole family, but one that we feel was in the best interests of everyone involved.  We thank everyone for their understanding in this very personal matter and hope that Xylie will find a family who will love her and cherish her and give her the world.  We are comfortable with our decision and know that it is what is best for her and us.

In light of that, we are so very proud of our first daughter, Saiya and so very happy to have such a perfect little girl with whom we can share our lives.  She has her first Violin recital April 28.  She will be playing "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star".  We are so proud of  her and her strength and ability to adapt to changes amazes us everyday.