Cute pics to go with the post below!

It's been so long!

So much has happened in the last six months or so! Gavin is doing great in Kindergarten. His teacher says he is a sponge and remembers everything. His English skills are phenomenal! Gavin's health is doing great since his surgery and he has much more energy.

Landree is also doing awesome! She has grown so tall and is only about half an inch or so shorter than her brother! She knows all of her letters and sounds now and almost has the writing of her name down.

I am super busy with work and so is Dan as usual. For those of you who didn't know, we lost our dear Brassie on New Year's day. We were so sad! We now have a new doggie addition. His name is Dandy and he is five years old. He has been a lot of work, but it is starting to pay off!

Well, now that I can update from my fancy new phone, hopefully I will update more often!

Gavin's 1st day of Kindergarten!

Gavin finally started Kinder! It seems as if he has been waiting for this day forever:) I didn't tell him the night before that it would be his first day. If I did, there would be no way he would have slept. So, this morning, I woke him up with, "Gavin! Time to wake up and go to Kindergarten today!" I have never seen him fly out of bed so fast. It was so cute. He was so proud of his new backpack and lunchbox. According to his teacher (who he loves), he did great. He tried to sing all of the songs, he wrote his name, and colored in the lines! How funny is that?

As for me, I also had a great first day. I will have some challenges this year as usual, but I think it will be a great year. I sure do have some little cuties in my class. Here's to year eleven!

And Even More Catching Up! Phew!

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Lot's and Lots of Catching Up!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I've posted! Mostly because Blogger can be a big pain in the behind, but whatever. So much has happened lately, I don't even know where to begin.

First, our summer has been mostly recovering from surgery. G finally had his open-heart surgery July 8th. All I can say is this little guy is our hero. I don't know how he ever got through what he went through. But he did! We were home from the hospital in ten days. He looks so different to me! You can tell a big difference in his face. If you scroll down to the last picture in the post below (the one with G with an alien), this is before his surgery. You can see how bloated his face is and how purple his lips are. Now, he has much more energy and isn't so breathless all of the time!

He just had his fifth birthday which he was so excited about! I think this is the longest celebration ever. On his real birthday (July 21st), we celebrated with non-fat yogurt, candles and presents with just the four of us. He was on a non-fat diet at the time and also couldn't swim. So, his pool party was post-poned until August 8th. He had a great time! There were kids everywhere!

I am so proud of him. He starts Kindergarten already on the 23rd. Wow. The coolest part is that he gets to come to work with me!

Landree is also doing very well. She has recently discovered the world of Disney Princesses and loves to play dress-up. She is so tall. Only three-and-a-half and as tall as her five-year-old brother. She is very smart and loves to negotiate (if you know what I mean). She will be starting back at her daycare next week.

The rest of the summer has been filled with playdates, scrapbooking and recovering! I can't believe it is over already!

Lot's of Catching Up!

The Firehouse!

So, for Mother's Day weekend, I went with a good friend of mine to this wonderful art show, had lunch and just all in all, had a great time. While I was gone, Dan took the kids to the local firehouse. They met Smokey the Bear, got to sit in the truck and Gavin even got to try out the hose! They are still talking about it.

On another note: Gavin's dental surgery went well and now we are moving on with his open-heart surgery. For now, all we know is that his surgery is scheduled for June 16th. He could be in the hospital for up to two weeks. I'm scared to death but yet looking forward to finally getting it done! Keep us in your prayers!

Chinese New Year '10

Happy Year of the Tiger! Ok, I can hardly believe it has been a month-and-a-half since our last post! Time is flying by so fast and we are so busy! I had been looking forward to our Families with Children from China's New Year Celebration for two reasons: I couldn't wait to show off our new son and also, because I was able to buy really great silk outfits for both Gavin and Landree! Anyway, I wrote the date down wrong on the calendar. Luckily, my good friend called and told me it was that day! We threw our clothes on and made the long drive down just in time for the lion dance. Phew! We missed most of the party, but at least we got to go!

Both kids were unsure of the lions, but once I was able to point out there was a man inside, they were ok (and a little relieved). I had to put the "lai-see" (lucky money) inside, but that's alright.

The kids are doing great. Gavin asks TONS of questions about everything. He speaks only English and refuses to speak any Mandarin. :( He is happy ALL OF THE TIME. It just amazes us how he just wants to fit in and be excited about everything. His dental surgery is finally scheduled for April 21st. I CANNOT WAIT. The poor kid has got to be uncomfortable, although he assures me he isn't. He is scheduled for another echocardiogram in April, and hopefully we can schedule his heart surgery at that time.

Landree is doing better at daycare. She has finally figured out that "Miss Laurie" is going to tell me everything she does and so, she thinks twice.:) She is getting so big! She is only half an inch shorter than Gavin. She is our little nature collector. She can spend all day in the backyard just picking at stuff. She loves looking for seeds, rocks, etc.

Dan and I are doing ok. Just keeping up with the grind and I'm counting the days until Spring Break. Until then...

Yummy Cupcakes

All of us attended a birthday party at the neighbor's house down the street. As you can see, the kids actually sat down for five minutes to eat a cupcake. I love these pictures!

I also just wanted to update everyone on what's going on with Gavin. FINALLY, he is scheduled for an initial consult/x-ray appointment with the dentist who will do the work on his teeth in the hospital. Pardon the pun, but it has been like "pulling teeth" to get this far with everything. The insurance issue was just unbelievable. Anyway, we finally have the ball rolling at least. Hopefully, the major work will be done soon and we can move forward. We are hoping to have his open-heart surgery sometime in late June. In the meantime, healthwise, he is hanging in there and is doing pretty good. He is learning English so fast, it just blows me away. He likes to try out new phrases too. His latest favorite is, "I don't know." It is always followed by the most mischeivious little smile too.

Landree is doing good too. She is getting so tall so fast. Right now, we think she has figured out that Gavin isn't going back, so she is acting out a bit. She loves to hoard her toys and hide them from her brother. She has been in trouble at daycare a bit too-mostly from not sharing with her brother.

Otherwise, we are slowly but surely adjusting. It hasn't been the easiest, but it does get better everyday. We are lucky to have two such beautiful children!

Oh, and by the way, I already have to sign Gavin up for Kindergarten next year already! Kinder packets are ready on Monday. Crazy that I have to think about that already.

Hope all is well with everyone. Thanks for following along!

Christmas '09

These pictures say it all. Christmas was wonderful.