Happy Birthday Halle - part 1

Okay - I started this post last week. So I don't have to completely start over I'll just make it into 2 separate posts...

I can't believe it has been a whole month since my last post and next week will mark our 3 month anniversary of having Halle. Time sure is flying!

All the holidays/time off school are behind us. Halle and I are finally starting to get into a routine. Good news/bad news on my work - good news is that it has been pretty sparse so Halle and I are getting to spend lots of time together. Bad news is that I'm not doing much to contribute to the family's bank account. This is typically my slow period so I'm trying not to get too worried about what the economy is doing to my livelihood at this point. I'm hoping that the t-shirt end of things will be picking up shortly with the upcoming school spring sports. And luckily Paul has one of the most stable jobs in the country right now.

So, Halle and I are trying to keep busy. We went to the library story time last week and plan to make it a weekly event. It was the second time we went. This time was much better. It was for toddlers. The first one we went to was for preschoolers and she was a little overwhelmed. There is singing, story telling and book reading. I think she spent more time looking around at the other kids to see what they were doing than she did participating with the leader. Today we went to open gym at our community center. They had mats out, a few riding cars, blocks, tunnels and lots of balls. She seemed to enjoy it. She is still anxious when other kids get near the toys she "was" playing with. Once she touches something, it's hers. It seems to be getting better but there is still the orphanage mentality that it's mine and you can't have it. I'm hoping that these two activities will get her more exposure to other kids and help elevate those fears.

I'm trying to put off finding permanent day care until after spring break. At first it was after the holidays but with my work being slow I'm thankful to have the extra time with her now. I'm still not sure what we are going to do yet. Best case scenario would probably be a few mornings a week. That would give me time to get a few hours of work done in the morning and then she could come home for lunch and a nap. I guess I'll put that on my list of things to worry about tomorrow :0

Halle's vocabulary continues to increase daily. She's got so many words I can't count them now. Her best pronounced word is Keisha and it is usually done in a yell. Mirrored behavior?? She still hasn't given a name to Sami yet and she won't say her name either. She usually calls herself baby if she sees a picture of herself or looks in the mirror.

Monday was Chinese New Year. We didn't do anything to celebrate it this year. I'm sure we will do something next year when she can understand some of it.