Sunday, December 2, 2007

Here we go!

Well, this is my first attempt at a blog, so we'll see what happens! But we decided this was a great way to share our family happenings with our friends and relatives quickly and easily. I will try to post weekly or so to keep you all updated!

This year has been such an amazing year! Daniel came home from China on August 9 and is doing just great. We have been learning firsthand just how different boys are from girls! Daniel is constantly active -- running, jumping, building things, etc. The kids are all getting along great (minus the regular sibling rivalry issues). Mali liked having someone to wrestle with from the start. Maja has recently decided she is pretty tough, too and she jumps right in the mix.

Mali and Maja can both recognize a few written words and *mostly* know their alphabet. Mali can write D, O and M and kind of writes her name (not very recognizable). Maja's speech is progressing by leaps and bounds. She has recently started using some short, complete sentences and her pronunciation is greatly improved. Daniel's English is coming along quickly. He picked up receptive language very quickly and "parroted" everything we said from the beginning. He is now using English without being prompted. The nice thing about him learning English after being fluent in Chinese is that he has gone right into using sentences and already understands the purpose of language.

We are just about ready for Christmas! Our family photo is taken, our cards are ordered and nearly all the gifts are purchased. We are excited to watch the kids enjoy the festivities this year. Daniel will think that it's a pretty fun holiday -- all the food you can eat and gifts, too!

Well, this is it for my introduction. Please subscribe to our blog and it will automatically send you notices when we update the site. We will be adding tales of our happenings and new photos.

5 comments:

TaiwanMommy said...

Lovely blog, Alyssa! The kids are adorable!!

Val
Momma to 5, two of whom are from Taiwan

Laura Beth said...

Hello from one AdoptCleft mama to another! Your blog looks great - looking forward to following your family!

Rachelle said...

Great job!:)
~Shelley

Anonymous said...

Hi....love the blog and Daniel looks like he is doing wonderfully! The Barrow family will be visiting Jackie Dec 28th...they are coming here for their anniversery....Jack will be so thrilled to see Simon (Hong Hu). It's too bad you are not closer as well as the Carter family so our boys can all get together for the holidays. It's going to be a wonderful first Christmas for Jack! So glad your family is well, safe and happy. Have a wonderful holiday and joyous New Year....and do give Daniel an X-mas hug from Jack for me would ya?!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! Aly you always amaze me with the fun creative things you do. You and Tony will be wonderful parents of 3 now! What a beautiful family!! Thanks for including me in your circle of friends. God bless you, Tony and the tribe! Can't wait for the next update!

DeAnn :0)


November 2007
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

~~ Helen Keller


Fun at the beach!

Fun at the beach!

Beautiful sunset with our friends at the lake

Beautiful sunset with our friends at the lake