Happy Holidays!!

It has been a very long time since our last post--our hectic schedule is our only excuse! School and daycare have certainly kept us busy. Kate began speech therapy classes at the local elementary school in September, and she's made great progress. Her vocabulary has blossomed and her speech is much easier to understand. We are very proud of her.

Wishing all of our family and friends the happiest of holidays!!!

Updated Pictures

It's been a while since our last post, and so much has happened! She has picked up quite a lot of English now, and often speaks in complete sentences. She knows the names of many colors and can count to ten. Kate has been going to daycare for almost two months and seems to enjoy her friends there.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone! The Easter Bunny visited our house, and Kate was elated! We had a fantastic time celebrating with family, complete with egg hunt and dinner. Kate is surprising us everyday with her language development. She is beginning to talk in complete sentences.

We adopted a fish!!!

We enjoyed spring break at the beach. We don't think that Kate has ever seen so much water at one time! Playing in the waves was definitely a new experience for her, as well as building sand castles. Later in the week we took a dip in the pool for the first time. With the assistance of Mommy, Daddy, and the floaty ring, she seemed like a natural-born swimmer!

Happy Birthday!

Kate celebrated her third birthday on March 15th with a quiet family gathering at home. We are unsure if she had ever celebrated her birthday in China. Nonetheless, she had a great time opening her presents, eating birthday cake, and visiting with relatives for dinner!

A Fun Weekend!

We enjoyed the company of many children this weekend. Kate was invited to a birthday party of one of her dad's colleague's children. She enjoyed the bounce house, getting her face painted, and playing many games with a clown!

Gung Hey Fat Choy!!!

Happy Chinese New Year! Our family celebrated at Charley Chiang's restaurant in Naples, and talked with other families that were celebrating with their kids as well. Kate ate very well and feasted on lettuce wraps, noodles, shrimp, and chicken. She hadn't eaten this well since the White Swan! Before we left, she was presented with the traditional "lucky money" that children get for the new year.

We are learning!!!

Kate has come a long way in learning the English language. She can say many words now, and can put several of them together. She is not speaking in sentences, but we're positive that will come soon! We just bought a new swimsuit, although we haven't been swimming in our pool yet. She loves to be our little helper around the house. She helps carry laundry to the washing machine, picks up all of her toys (and puts them up when we vacuum), and loves to set the table. She amazed us one day when playing with blocks, as you can see above. Our girl understands the concept of symmetry!

Next weekend we will celebrate Chinese New Year, so we will post more pictures after the celebration!

Settling in at Home

It's been over three weeks since we've been home from China. Kate is doing great--she has learned her first name, and is learning to say new things everyday. She understands almost everything you tell her. She can do many things independently: dress and undress herself, use the toilet (she is completely potty-trained) and washing up afterwards, just to name a few! Although she likes to play with her teddy bears and blocks inside, she loves playing outdoors. Spending time at the park is one of her favorite things to do. She also enjoys learning to ride her tricycle and going for stroller rides.


Aunt Sue came down for a few days to spend time with us--Kate thoroughly enjoyed her company! Soon Mommy will have to go back to her job at school, so Kate will enjoy a few weeks with Grandma, Daddy's mom. We look forward to seeing Lisa's mom and dad at the end of February.

We hope you enjoy the new pictures--we included some of the shower that Daddy had at his school!