Christmas 2009

Alex began First Grade in September and is doing so well. His math is very advanced and he is really starting to read well. He'll read any Dr. Seuss book over and over!!! He is back into karate since baseball is over for now. He has made a great group of friends. His teacher tells me he is way too social in school and wants to talk all day. I crack up hearing that since he's only known the language for 15 months. How fast he adapted!!!!

Here are some of his holiday photos!!!

Beach Boy

We are so lucky to live on Long Island and so near the beach! He has learned to swim this summer and has no fear (of big waves) at all! A boy after my own heart! I grew up the same way and was determined that all four of my boys come to love the ocean!

Our trip to Disney and much more`

Wow! It's been so long since I have updated this blog! Life has been wonderful with Alex the last few months! We took him to Disney in April for Spring Break and he loved EVERY second of it. He also lost a bunch of front teeth. He loved the rides, the warm weather and the swimming pool. He has learned to swim now with his big brother Jake.

In May, he tested out of the ESL/ELL program. He also started working with a Chinese tutor. Now that he is fluent in English, I want him to retain his Chinese. He is working hard with his tutor and it's starting to come back to him when he works with her.

In June, as school ended, we took the entire family to a rented beach house in Outerbanks, NC. Alex loved the beach, the four wheelin' the mini-golf, and spending time with his family!

He is such a joy! He loves new adventures, loves doing new things, and love his family as we love him. People think we have had him since he was a baby, and are always surprised (after hearing him speak or seeing him interact with us) that he only became part of our family less than 11 months ago!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Alex!!!

This is Alex's first birthday home. He had a birthday party in school (cupcakes), a family party and then a kid party at a slot car racing party place. He had so much fun and got so many gifts! I think he was a little overwhelmed but he enjoyed it all! We also took him to NY City at the end of January for a Chinese New Year celebration. Jake loved it all but Alex seemed quite bored with it. It was as though it was nothing new to him! It was the show at Radio City Music Hall so we expected him to be surprised by it all and love it. He fell asleep about half way through.

Alex is speaking so well already. He is here 6 months now and I am so surprised by his quick understanding of the English language already. His main "mistake" is that he doesn't understand past and present tenses when he is speaking. That's pretty darn good. So, he will say, "Mommy, thi is bleed" if his finger is bleeding. He also says "rook" instead of "look" when he wants to show me something. But then I make a funny face and he corrects himself by trying overly hard to say "LLLLL" in Look. It's very cute!

He is so huggy and mushy ALL the time. He loves being tucked into bed and he loves storytime. He is such a sweetheart!

Alex's First Christmas Home

Alex had a great Christmas! Santa Claus brought everything on his list. He opened and played with each gift. It was amazing watching his little face with each gift he opened. It was hard to imagine what he was thinking, but his smile said it all! He got to play with a bunch of his cousins, open more presents, eat some of the cookies we spent all week making, and trying new foods that he had never had before. He loved it all! He told me they did have Christmas in Taiwan, but he got socks and underwear at Chung Yi (the orphange) but then he laughed so I am not sure if he was kidding or not. We also reminded him that we sent him Christmas presents at Chung Yi last year, but he couldn't remember what we sent (I don't either because we sent gifts every month last year). Alex also participated in our church pagaent by being a shephard. He worked hard at learning all of the songs and did very well. We were all very proud of him. Happy New Year!

Alex's First Snow!!

Alex and Jake got out of school the other day and Alex got to feel, see and taste snow for the first time. He loved it although he was shocked at how cold it was. I gave him his gloves and then he was thrilled to make snowballs and throw them at me and to make a snowman with Jake. He loves anything new!

Alex's Karate pictures

Alex just moved from his white belt to his yellow belt. He worked so hard and we were really proud of him!