One year annivesary

One year ago today we became a family of 5. It's hard to believe how quickly the year has gone although on the other hand it's hard to remember what life was like without Halle. She is definitely the center of our household.

Halle continues to grow and thrive. She has lost much of her baby fat rolls and is getting much taller. Luckily she continues to be quite healthy so she hasn't been to the doctor to get measured. The last check she was in the 75th percentile for her height and weight which is huge for an asian baby. Most of the girls I have seen or read about are lucky to even hit the American growth charts.

Halle's vocabulary is unbelievable. She is still having problems pronouncing more than the first sylable but we can usually underestand what she is saying. She is stringing more and more words together too. And it's hard to remember the last time she didn't understand something we were trying to tell her.

We are currently going to Chinese school a couple of times a month. She seems to really enjoy it. There are 6-7 other little kids in the class. The class lasts for 35 minutes and consists of singing and dancing to Chinese nursery rhymems. The instructor gave us 2 CDs with the music on and we often play it while driving. At the end of the class in June will be a recital. I'm so looking forward to that. As she gets older she will be able to participate in more of the classes. They have dance and language and writing.

Halle started to go to daycare at one of our friends house 3 mornings a week. It is working out so well. I thought it would be a real struggle at the beginning but she didn't have any transition problems at all. She just went with the flow, as she ususally does. It gives me a nice break and helps me get some work done.

The big kids continue to be great with Halle. Sami, or Cher as Halle continues to call her, is still like a second mommy to her. They share quite a bond. I'm sure it will be a struggle for everyone when Sami goes away to college next year. Jacob has made great strides with Halle. They no longer have the love/hate relationship that they had when we came home last year. Halle's early interaction with Jacob was throwing blocks at him and running him over with the stroller. I think she thought she was supposed to beat up on him every time she saw him. Now they can play together very nicely. She loves to jump on the trampoline with Jacob. For awhile Jacob was the bath man too. I still can't convince him to put a diaper on her though:)

School is going very well for the big kids. Jacob is have a MUCH better year. He even brought home a report card with all A's, the first time since elementary! Sami's grades continue to be very good also. The big kids just completed fall soccer at school. They both did really well. Jacob made the JV A team and did a great job with the team. He was even selected to dress with the varsity during tournament time. He got to play in 2 of the games and was the sacrifical body drawing 2 red cards and a yellow card in the last game. Sami's highlight of a very difficult season was scoring the winning goal in the tournament game against Davidson. She also made first time all conference and 2nd team for the division. She was also in a 3 way tie for player of the year for her conference. While she didn't win, I think that is quite an accomplishment!