Happy Birthday Little One

SJ at 10 months. The first time we saw her face.
Three of the Xiushan Sisters - Special Friends

Princess SJ

Does this color look good on me?

SJ is three today. I can't believe that our little girl is growing up so fast. It seems like only yesterday that we were traveling to China. She was 15 months when we first met. It seems like SJ was always a part of our family. But somewhere in China, is a mother whose heart is sad and breaking as she remembers the beautiful little girl that she gave birth to three years ago today. She is probably wondering where she is now and if she is doing okay. If only I could reassure her that SJ is very happy and well cared and very much loved.

We had a great party for her birthday. We were visited by two of her SWI sisters (our traveling buddies). It was wonderful to see the girls together again. As soon as AG came through the door, SJ ran over to her and gave her a big hug. She loved playing with them all afternoon. It was a great time visiting with Hal & Angel and Marty and Tammy. What a wonderful birthday and afternoon. Even though it rained and we had to be inside, it was great.

Happy Spring.

As the night before the first official day of Spring, it's a good time to reflect and catch-up on all that happened during the winter months. K has finished taking the driver education class at school. She now has her certification that is needed to get her learners permit. I guess that we will be heading to the NC DMV in the next few weeks to get the learners. I'm not so sure that I am ready for her to start driving. Along with this, the braces are now off. I can't remember what she looked like without them before. There is a huge change now. She is now doing pole vaulting for the track team. She still has a way to go as she has not cleared the bar yet, but she is getting better with every practice.
SJ will be turning 3 in about a week. Where has the time (1 1/2 mo.) gone. She can't wait until she gets her big girl bed. Eric is almost done with her room I can't wait to see the finished project.
The last bit of news is that we are planning on becoming a temporary family of 5 (2 teens and one toddler.) Yep, 2 teens and 1 tot.

Our musical girl.

Kathryn marching at one of the football games.

SJ's two favorite things - Pooh & Sugar

Daddy's Girl

Last photo with braces!!!

Happy Birthday to My Teen

Where has the time gone. Almost two months has passed. Can you tell that we are busy. I don't even have time to post. To bring folks up-to-date - we've celebrated my big birthday, Christmas, New Years, Eric's Birthday, Chinese New Year and now K's 15th birthday. We watched the Super Bowl (Yea Steelers!!!) and had a surprise BD party for K as part of the super bowl party. I can't believe that 15 yrs have passed since I held a beautiful baby in my arms. She has grown into a beautiful young lady. She recently auditioned for the All-District Honor band. She placed 12th out of 44 flutes for the 9th & 10th graders. Unfortunately, only the top 10 flutes participate in the band. She just missed the cut-off. But from what she heard, the top 10 are mostly 10th graders and had some of the highest scores ever seen. She feels pretty good about placing 12th. So now she is training for pole vaulting for the track team. I don't know about that, but it's what she wants to do for the Spring track season. She also just got her report card and again made straight A's. And got a level 4 on the EOC test in math. We are very proud of her accomplishments.

SJ is becoming quite a talker. Sometimes she never stops talking. And you can understand her pretty well. She is almost totally potty trained. We've only had a couple of accidents since Christmas and those are at night. She loves to look at the pictures of her SWI sisters and knows their names. She is very bright and keeps all of us on our toes. I will post pictures when I get them downloaded from the camera. With K's activities and only one computer, it will take me a little time.

Disney

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando for work to attend training. The evening hours allowed me to do a little sightseeing. So I was able to take advantage of attending Mickey's Christmas Party. The lights and icicles on the castle were beautiful.

SJ sang on Sunday with the Cherub choir. She really didn't know the song, but she knew that she needed to use the song sheet that the director uses. The children were so cute. Although the picture doesn't show it, SJ just could not keep her shoes and socks on. She was up there barefooted. I wonder what the folks in the church thought.

Our little Duckie

SJ was a duck for Halloween. I'm not sure she enjoyed being in the costume but she loved getting her pumpkin filled with goodies.