 |
| Modeling her dress before the ceremony |
 |
| Hanging in the audience with mama, grandma, & grandpa |
 |
| A lovely box full of momentos, milestones, and photos. |
 |
| Lia and her best buddy! |
 |
| So proud of our girl! |
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Graduate - Preschool June 2013
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Spring has Sprung
Once again, it's been awhile since I've done any blogging...life has just gotten too busy with an active four year old, and both of us balancing work with family time. Lia is doing amazing. Her speech is REALLY coming along. Now, people who haven't seen her in a few months even comment on how much more they can understand. She is also coming out of her shell now that we've been settled in our house for almost a year and she is enjoying her new school and afternoon schedule as well. As the previous post noted, Lia started ballet in January. During March, there was a brief hiatus from ballet lessons, where I enrolled her in a local gymnastics program for four weeks - just to try it out. The gym is loud and there are a TON of kids there on any given weeknight - so I wasn't sure how she'd do. She is also still working on catching up on some of her gross motor skills in terms of balance, strength, and agility. The first night she was more of an "observer", but since then, every week she has tried (and succeeded!) and new skills and her increased strength is showing!
Lia also got a new, 2-wheel bike a few weeks ago! She is still using training wheels, but she has gotten the hang of using the brakes to slow down, and is working hard pedaling up inclines and using those new leg muscles! We are so proud of her. Now, anytime the sun is shining, she wants to go outside on a ride around the neighborhood with us. When it rains, she just rides around and around the kitchen island! Yesterday was beautiful, so Steve took her out on her bike and she rode over to the neighborhood play area. She face-planted at one point (due to going down a driveway slope too fast and turning the wheel) but she was wearing her helmet and pads, so after a few tears (from being scared!) she got back on that bike and rode over to the park anyway. GO LIA!
Over Lia's spring break from preschool, we took a day to travel up north and visit the tulip fields. It was SO beautiful. Lia said she could look and them "all day and all night". Her favorites were the pink and purple varieties (of course!) but we were able to snap this pic of her standing amongst a field of red. Amazing!
Lia also got a new, 2-wheel bike a few weeks ago! She is still using training wheels, but she has gotten the hang of using the brakes to slow down, and is working hard pedaling up inclines and using those new leg muscles! We are so proud of her. Now, anytime the sun is shining, she wants to go outside on a ride around the neighborhood with us. When it rains, she just rides around and around the kitchen island! Yesterday was beautiful, so Steve took her out on her bike and she rode over to the neighborhood play area. She face-planted at one point (due to going down a driveway slope too fast and turning the wheel) but she was wearing her helmet and pads, so after a few tears (from being scared!) she got back on that bike and rode over to the park anyway. GO LIA!
Over Lia's spring break from preschool, we took a day to travel up north and visit the tulip fields. It was SO beautiful. Lia said she could look and them "all day and all night". Her favorites were the pink and purple varieties (of course!) but we were able to snap this pic of her standing amongst a field of red. Amazing!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Ballet & Valentines
Lia started ballet classes at the local rec center at the end of January. She absolutely loves it. She loves the pretty outfits she gets to wear, and the music, and the teacher. After the first class I asked her if she still wanted to go back the following week - and she said "Yes!...and the next week...and the next week...and the next week!"
Valentines Day lasted for what seemed like a week at preschool. Since she attends two different preschool classes at the same location, she got to have two parties...and each class made Valentines crafts all week. I especially loved this Valentine "owl" bag they made:
She was thrilled to wake up on Valentine's Day to some special treats from mama and daddy as well!
Of course, at this age, her favorite Valentine is her daddy...
Valentines Day lasted for what seemed like a week at preschool. Since she attends two different preschool classes at the same location, she got to have two parties...and each class made Valentines crafts all week. I especially loved this Valentine "owl" bag they made:
She was thrilled to wake up on Valentine's Day to some special treats from mama and daddy as well!
Of course, at this age, her favorite Valentine is her daddy...
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Happy New Year 2013!
Well, I promised I would blog more after the new year, so here we are! We had a bumpy holiday this year with illness and work schedules, but we still managed to have a lot of fun along the way.
Lia started afternoon preschool in December. We had her moved to the afternoon class for a few reasons, but mainly because there is a 4 year old afternoon class that has girls in it! Amazingly, at least in this school district, there seems to be many more boys than girls registered for preschool. She is really enjoying the afternoon class, and coming out of her shell much more. The teachers are really pleased with her progress and acclimation into the new class.
Unfortunately, she came home the second week of December with a cold, which ended up turning into pneumonia by week's end. After a trip to urgent care, and a round of antibiotics, we got her healthy enough to play "the camel" in her preschool's Christmas play - which was a hoot! You gotta love a group of 4 year olds shouting out the lyrics to Christmas carols they don't really know. As with any group this age, the kids have short attention spans:
Preschool released for winter break right after the play, so we had a few days to catch up on our holiday decorating and traditions before Santa's big visit. On the 21st, we visited a local nursery, where Santa's reindeer come to "rest up" prior to the big night. Lia loved seeing them, but was somewhat disappointed that Rudolph was there with his red nose:
On Christmas Eve, Daddy had to work, so Lia and I decided to make some frosted sugar cookies for Santa. This year Lia helped cut out the cookies and spread the frosting and sprinkles. She did a great job! The cookies turned out awesome and Santa gobbled up the three that she chose to leave out for him that evening:
We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, followed by a candlelight church service, before heading home for the night. Daddy helped Lia hold her candle and her eyes were as big as saucers, but she was so proud to get to hold a candle herself this year! Christmas day my parents, uncle and sister came to our house for Christmas dinner. Lia had plenty of new toys and presents to show off to the family.
The following day, we took her out shopping, with the gift card she received from Steve's mom. It was super fun to watch her make tough decisions, pick out her gifts and hand her card to the cashier. This little girl is not hurting for toys!!! Later in the day, she posed with some of her new acquistions:
A cute sidenote: Santa brought her a baby penguin, which coos when you feed it a bottle. When we told Lia that she had a gift card she could use to buy anything else she needed/wanted that Santa might have forgotten, she says, "I want to get the baby penguin a mama and daddy. He needs a family...like you came to China to get me"... Oh, my heart! And I'll be darned if the first thing she picked out on Wednesday wasn't a penguin mama and daddy for her baby. Sweet girl. :)
Lia started afternoon preschool in December. We had her moved to the afternoon class for a few reasons, but mainly because there is a 4 year old afternoon class that has girls in it! Amazingly, at least in this school district, there seems to be many more boys than girls registered for preschool. She is really enjoying the afternoon class, and coming out of her shell much more. The teachers are really pleased with her progress and acclimation into the new class.
Unfortunately, she came home the second week of December with a cold, which ended up turning into pneumonia by week's end. After a trip to urgent care, and a round of antibiotics, we got her healthy enough to play "the camel" in her preschool's Christmas play - which was a hoot! You gotta love a group of 4 year olds shouting out the lyrics to Christmas carols they don't really know. As with any group this age, the kids have short attention spans:
 |
| Lia, far left, watching the teacher as her friend yawns... |
Preschool released for winter break right after the play, so we had a few days to catch up on our holiday decorating and traditions before Santa's big visit. On the 21st, we visited a local nursery, where Santa's reindeer come to "rest up" prior to the big night. Lia loved seeing them, but was somewhat disappointed that Rudolph was there with his red nose:
On Christmas Eve, Daddy had to work, so Lia and I decided to make some frosted sugar cookies for Santa. This year Lia helped cut out the cookies and spread the frosting and sprinkles. She did a great job! The cookies turned out awesome and Santa gobbled up the three that she chose to leave out for him that evening:
We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, followed by a candlelight church service, before heading home for the night. Daddy helped Lia hold her candle and her eyes were as big as saucers, but she was so proud to get to hold a candle herself this year! Christmas day my parents, uncle and sister came to our house for Christmas dinner. Lia had plenty of new toys and presents to show off to the family.
The following day, we took her out shopping, with the gift card she received from Steve's mom. It was super fun to watch her make tough decisions, pick out her gifts and hand her card to the cashier. This little girl is not hurting for toys!!! Later in the day, she posed with some of her new acquistions:
A cute sidenote: Santa brought her a baby penguin, which coos when you feed it a bottle. When we told Lia that she had a gift card she could use to buy anything else she needed/wanted that Santa might have forgotten, she says, "I want to get the baby penguin a mama and daddy. He needs a family...like you came to China to get me"... Oh, my heart! And I'll be darned if the first thing she picked out on Wednesday wasn't a penguin mama and daddy for her baby. Sweet girl. :)
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas 2012
Where has this year gone? I guess between job changes and moving and a new school, dental surgery, birthdays, and a 'bout with pneumonia - it has just escaped me. I will try to catch up in a New Year's post, but for now, just wanted to wish all of our friends and family (near and far) a safe and merry Christmas!
P.S. - We LOVE the Santa on Vashon Island. No crowds, just a quaint little log cottage in the middle of a town park. No pressure. :)
P.S. - We LOVE the Santa on Vashon Island. No crowds, just a quaint little log cottage in the middle of a town park. No pressure. :)
Friday, November 16, 2012
Fall 2012
We have been so busy this fall - getting moved into our new house, Lia starting a new preschool, a long weekend on the Oregon coast, then her dental surgery, followed by Halloween, and then her 4th birthday - WHEW! I need to stop and take a breather before heading into the holiday season!
Picking up where we last left off - my family headed to the Oregon coast for a long weekend in mid-October. Par for the course this time of year, it was raining off and on the entire weekend, but we managed to have a fabulous time anyway.
This was Lia's first time at an ocean beach, and she built a giant sandcastle.
The following Thursday, Lia had her big dental surgery under anesthesia. She did well, but the surgery did end up taking a full three hours! They put on six silver caps, two fillings, nerve treatments, and extracted at total of four teeth. OY! What a day. And what a week followed... This may have been the hardest recovery we have seen for her in the three surgeries we've endured thus far. Interestingly, she bounced back really quickly from her two palate surgeries at age 2, but - maybe because she knows more now and remembers things longer - there was a lot more anxiety surrounding this surgery and recovery. Because her mouth was retracted open for 3 hours, her lips and corners of her mouth were very swollen, cracked and bleeding for several days following. We used a lot of advil, ice and vaseline during that time.
A week later it was Halloween. Lia planned for months (probably close to a year) on being "Sleeping Beauty" (Princess Aurora). Her costume was beautiful and she looked absolutely gorgeous in it.
That brings us to Lia's 4th birthday last weekend. Hard to believe the little 17 mos. old we first saw in our referral photos is now a big 4 year old. Time just flies by WAY too fast! Lia's theme of choice for her party was "Little Mermaid" and this year she blew out the four candles like a pro!
Picking up where we last left off - my family headed to the Oregon coast for a long weekend in mid-October. Par for the course this time of year, it was raining off and on the entire weekend, but we managed to have a fabulous time anyway.
This was Lia's first time at an ocean beach, and she built a giant sandcastle.
The following Thursday, Lia had her big dental surgery under anesthesia. She did well, but the surgery did end up taking a full three hours! They put on six silver caps, two fillings, nerve treatments, and extracted at total of four teeth. OY! What a day. And what a week followed... This may have been the hardest recovery we have seen for her in the three surgeries we've endured thus far. Interestingly, she bounced back really quickly from her two palate surgeries at age 2, but - maybe because she knows more now and remembers things longer - there was a lot more anxiety surrounding this surgery and recovery. Because her mouth was retracted open for 3 hours, her lips and corners of her mouth were very swollen, cracked and bleeding for several days following. We used a lot of advil, ice and vaseline during that time. A week later it was Halloween. Lia planned for months (probably close to a year) on being "Sleeping Beauty" (Princess Aurora). Her costume was beautiful and she looked absolutely gorgeous in it.
Unfortunately, the *concept* of trick or treating was a lot more appealing than the *actual* thing. All it took was one young boy jumping out a screaming "Boo!" wearing a Hulk mask, and it was over for us. Maybe next year... :)
That brings us to Lia's 4th birthday last weekend. Hard to believe the little 17 mos. old we first saw in our referral photos is now a big 4 year old. Time just flies by WAY too fast! Lia's theme of choice for her party was "Little Mermaid" and this year she blew out the four candles like a pro!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!
Monday, October 08, 2012
A Boo-tiful October!
October is upon us and we have been busy as ever the past month. Lia started her second year of preschool on September 5th. This year she gets to ride the bus to school. It is a special bus just for preschoolers and it picks up and drops off right at our driveway - you can't ask for better service than that!
So far she is loving her new school. It is 4 days/week (Mon.-Thurs) for 3.5 hours. During her days there, she gets OT & PT once/week (each) and speech therapy 2x/wk.
She also gets to take one of her toys with her each day to share for show and tell. She thinks this might be a great reason for mama and daddy to buy her some *new* toys, but we have convinced her that by the time her birthday (Nov.) and Christmas have passed, she will have plenty of new toys to share.
The Pacific NW has had an unprecendented warm and dry fall thus far. Just beautiful and sunny, with temps on many days reaching into the 70s. Our new house has a community playground just a block and half away, and Lia has loved being able to ride her trike over there with mama or daddy to play on the slides.
Today Steve and I celebrate six years since the day we met! What a wild ride it's been. We're looking forward to a family getaway weekend on the Oregon Coast in a couple of weeks. Then We have Lia's massive dental surgery to look forward (?) to on the 25th. However, the doctors say she should be in fine form for Halloween, and she is excited to be Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) this year!
So far she is loving her new school. It is 4 days/week (Mon.-Thurs) for 3.5 hours. During her days there, she gets OT & PT once/week (each) and speech therapy 2x/wk.
She also gets to take one of her toys with her each day to share for show and tell. She thinks this might be a great reason for mama and daddy to buy her some *new* toys, but we have convinced her that by the time her birthday (Nov.) and Christmas have passed, she will have plenty of new toys to share.
The Pacific NW has had an unprecendented warm and dry fall thus far. Just beautiful and sunny, with temps on many days reaching into the 70s. Our new house has a community playground just a block and half away, and Lia has loved being able to ride her trike over there with mama or daddy to play on the slides.
Today Steve and I celebrate six years since the day we met! What a wild ride it's been. We're looking forward to a family getaway weekend on the Oregon Coast in a couple of weeks. Then We have Lia's massive dental surgery to look forward (?) to on the 25th. However, the doctors say she should be in fine form for Halloween, and she is excited to be Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) this year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
