Our graduate

Well, Olivia had the first of her graduations earlier this month -- her Pre-K graduation. While I am VERY proud of her, I had mixed emotions about this graduation. I tried not to make a huge deal out of it but other things/people did. I know others may disagree with me I just feel like kids today have too many graduations (here they have Pre-K, Kindergarten, 5th and 8th grades) and by the time they hit high school it becomes "just another graduation" to them and I want my kids to value their education and know that high school and college graduations are the most important. Anyway, they had a graduation (complete with cap and gown) and a program showcasing some things they learned in school this year -- they did song of the days of the week to the tune of the Adam's Family, Months of the year to the Makarena, the Pledge of Allegiance and a few other things that are escaping me at the moment.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!!

I can't believe that my baby is 5 today. She is such a joy. She is however getting a little attitude on her. Ugh! I thought I had a few more years before that happened. Some things about Olivia:

• She's smart
• She's sassy
• She loves her parents (and we love her too!) and is becoming a great big sister (of course they still have their moments as all siblings do
• She fiercely loves her friends and extended family
• She loves school, gymnastics and Chinese class
• She's ready to start Kindergarten (although Mommy's not to sure about sending her LOL)
• She still takes a nap
• She is still a tiny peanut -- 30 pounds and 39.25 inches tall

We had her party last weekend which turned out to be a good thing as we are getting covered with snow today and tomorrow -- about 8 - 10 inches. We had a birthday cupcake before Daddy had to go to work this morning.

The party....

While Olivia's birthday is not until this Friday, we had her birthday party this past Saturday. We have always had a low key party for just close friends. This year we decided to have a bowling party and invite her classmates. We had a great turnout and all the kids had a great time! Olivia had so much fun bowling that she wanted to keep bowling. Here are a few pics from the day. I wish I could post more pics but they had others in them and since I don't have their parents permission to post them I can't. Bummer.

Sick girls and another snow day

Well, we had another snow day today which is probably a good thing as both girls were sick. As I said in my previous post, both girls were getting over illnesses. Olivia has been fighting a fever since early Saturday morning (with a high temp of 105.8) but tested negative for strep on Sunday. The doctor said it was a virus and to just keep giving her tylenol and such to treat the fever. Well she woke up about 4:45 this morning with yet another fever (103.8) so I gave her more tylenol. Sophia woke up about 5:30 with a fever of 103.2 so she got a dose of medicine. I put her back in bed and after about 30 minutes she told me her ears hurt. So at that point I decided to take both girls to the doctor this morning. Unfortunately, it (plus the fact that school was closed again) totally messed up my plans for the day as we (my girlfriend and I) were supposed to do some shopping for supplies for our FCC Chinese New Year celebration on Saturday. She and her wonderful husband did some of the shopping today and I hope to finish up the rest tomorrow. It was determined that Olivia had an ear infection in both ears and Sophia just had an infection in her right ear. The Dr. was surprised that Olivia did not complain about her ears hurting. They both seem to be doing much better with the antibiotic in their system. Hopefully they will feel well enough to go to school tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures with my new camera. I just love it!!

The new 'do

Well, I took Olivia and Sophia to get haircuts last week. Olivia's hair when it's long gets stringy and looks very unkempt. She looks better with shorter hair but Daddy doesn't quite like it short but since he doesn't fix their hair he has no say in what I have done with it. LOL Here is Olivia's new 'do.....

Christmas Program

The girls had their school Christmas program the other day and did so well. Sophia's class did Jingle Bells and Mary Had a Baby. Olivia's class did Angels We Have Heard On High (my favorite and she was an angel) and Happy Birthday Jesus. I have video from my camera of Olivia's last song. Here are a few pics...

Christmas pictures

Well, I took the pictures for the Christmas card and got some awesome pictures. I can't wait to see how the card turns out -- I ordered it yesterday. Here are a few pics from that day.....

4 Years Ago

We saw our lovely Olivia's face for the first time. It was so surreal to finally see the face of the child that was to become our daughter. I could not believe it when I got the call. I had been e-mailing with a fellow travel mate that I guess our calls weren't coming that day -- most of our DTC group had gotten their calls 2 days before. I had no sooner typed the words "I know it's all in God's timing but try telling that to my heart." when the receptionist told me that Suzanne was on the phone and I realized that it was "the call". I quickly typed the sentence "I'm on the call right now get ready" to Susan. I took the call and found out that we were referred an 8.5 month old Long Fu Yu, currently residing in the Suichuan County WI in the JiangXi Province. She was a little peanut (and still is) weighing only 12 pounds. I told Suzanne that I would be at the agency in a few hours to see her precious pictures and to get the rest of the referral information. I looked for David and couldn't find him -- of all times not to answer his cell phone! I couldn't find my (then) best friend as she was going to drive me to the agency and take pictures of me getting the referral. I finally found David at the gym and said "Hey Daddy!" I talked him into riding with us to the agency with a stop in Frankfort. Seeing her picture for the first time was such a thrill. Just looking at her I knew she was the one for us.

Olivia is a rambunctious child. She can get into more and make more messes in the shortest amount of time. She is a head-strong, stubborn child. She is not a real graceful child -- she falls and trips over anything and everything. She is also a loving child. She loves fiercely. She talks ALL. THE. TIME. She loves gymnastics and is on the developmental team.

Olivia -- the gymnast

Olivia had her first gymnastics performance day. It was to show what she has learned in gymnastics to family and friends. She really loves taking gymnastics. She has really come a long way in 2 years. She used to really dislike the balance beam and the trapeze when she first started but now loves both! Here is a short video of her on the balance beam.

Just photos....

First Day of School

The first day of school went off without a hitch! Olivia asked every day after we went to the open house and met her teachers if she got to go to school that day and I always said no not today but you will go on Monday. Well, Sunday night she picked out what she wanted to wear and what Sophia was going to wear before heading to bed. Monday morning she woke up and I could hear her skipping through the kitchen saying "I get to go to school today" over and over again. She is going 4 days per week and Sophia is going 2 days. She has since decided that she doesn't like going to school when Sophia isn't there. Here are a few pics of the first day:

Swimming

Olivia is taking swim lessons with a friend of hers in a semi-private lesson. She is doing so amazingly well. She loves it and is becoming fearless of the water which is kind of scary. My mom, my brothers and their families came over last Sunday for a cookout and swim party. My brothers were throwing both Olivia and Sophia up in the air and Olivia would come back to the top and swim either to the side or the nearest adult. Sophia they would catch since she can't swim yet. She loved it as well. I was able to take a few pics.