Hailey Turns 7

Dear Little One, 

You completed your Kindergarten year with a bang! You absolutely love going to school and you've made some good friends along the way. You are still attending martial arts, but you are now  in the Junior Warrior Class instead the Little Warrior Class. Sometimes you and Nathan will be in the same class, but usually not (since he is now in the Jr. Black Belt Class). 

At the end of the school year, you earned your solid green belt! 

Last day of first grade was bittersweet. We got to attend your kinder graduation ceremony in your classroom. 

After school got out, we got into roller derby mode. Since my league was hosting a tournament, there was lots of work to be done and you were very willing to help me out with lots of tasks. You help me cut raffle tickets... 

You helped me decorate my scrimmage jersey... 

Occasionally, we would take breaks and do fun things like make mini apple pies. You love baking and cooking and are always asking how you can help. 

And then it was back to work again. 

We went on mini road trips as a family. This one was to Fredericksburg. We had to stop by the ice cream shop on the way home. 

When you really want something, you break out the puppy eyes. I have to look away because those eyes are hard to resist! 

We made some rice dumplings and you all love eating them. It was nice to finally have lots of help making these. 

We went to Taiwan and got to do lots of cool things. You got to play at a black sand beach. Hannah got stung by a jellyfish but we were able to Mcguyver a contraption that would test out the theory about using urine to neutralize a jellyfish sting. Verdict: We think it works! 

You continue to be a total ham! You love taking pictures. 

And come up with the cutest poses. 

While we were in Taiwan, you had a chronic cough, so you were unable to enjoy as much shaved ice as you normally would. You were a sport about it. 

We went to a craft village and you were able to use silver clay to mold your own silver seal charm. 

I was sooo impressed. You did it all by yourself! 

We also got to see a seal super close up! 

Which led to the following wish made the next day at Shifen old street. 

We signed all you guys up for a cooking class. People were so impressed with your cooking skills at 6 years old. 

Some days you get a bit grumpy. You are very sensitive to firm tones. Anything louder than conversation voice seems like yelling to you. 

You give great hugs and you light up every room that you walk into. 

On the last evening we were there, you were finally good enough o get your very own bowl of shaved ice! You were so happy! 

You have Ms. Nunez, the same teacher that Nathan had in 1st grade. 

You are continuing with Chinese school and you are taking Chinese knotting class. You say that this class is the highlight of your Chinese school experience. 

We had your 6 month heart check up and things are... OK. Your heart is not completely healed, and the Dr. even used the word "regression," but the surgery did what it needed to do and at this point we just wait. She let us know that you will not be able to play competitive sports in the future, but sports like golf might be a good option. I think casual martial arts and gymnastics is also going to be OK, but you will not be allowed to lift more than 50 pounds as an adult. 

You try your hardest in all that you do. You've made new friends this year and even had a "boyfriend." at the beginning of the year. Your reading skills are skyrocketing more each day and your writing is pretty much at the cutest stage it will be. I love the creative spelling stage. 

I will probably make a post after the Halloween shenanigans. 

Love, 

Mommy 

Hannah is a Decade Years Old

 Dear Hannah, 

Yikes! 

It has been 5 months since I've last posted about you. You recently hit the decade mark and I am really proud of the person that you've become. 

Out of the 3 kids, you and I are most alike. I can always count on you wanting to accompany me anywhere that might seem fun to me to visit. 

All 3 of you like foraging for food. I mean, I think most people like to do it, but you get really excited and will go out on your own to look for edible things in nature. When you are stressed, you often ask if you can go on a hike through the woods near our house. 

You are brave and adventurous. You love being in nature and going on hikes. 

You are also very crafty. You love making crafts and learning how to make new things. 

 

For your 10th birthday, you asked to have it at a skating rink. You had your best friends there and we all had a blast. You also couldn't decide one flavor of cake, so we got 2. 

You are probably the bravest person in the family. When we went to the ocean over the summer, you were the only person in the family who went cliff diving. 

You still continue to love gymnastics. We decided to go the recreation route this season and it seems to be a better fit. You are still practicing as long as when you were on the team, but we don't have to go to competitions anymore and you are ok with it. 

You appreciate Nature, beautiful scenery and I can often sense you pausing to just soak everything in. 

You are a little foodie who is eager to try everything. You are braver than I am when it comes to spicy food! 

You beg for us to get another dog almost every day. We got you some fish, which you do a great job of taking care of. You love interacting with animals and ever since you were a child, you love to pet all the animals. You got to pet some chupacabras, sheep, alpacas, an albino kangaroo and a cat on our trip.  

You love to cook. You are now the Havlir waffle master. Anytime we have waffles, you are in charge of making them. I signed you up for a baking class and you made your own mango cake which was delicious! 

You are a beautiful girl who has a sense of style. This is probably where you and I differ the most. I like more traditional and plain clothing, you like florals and colorful pieces of clothing with ruffles. 

When we went to Taiwan, we had to recreate this photo. I think they have moved the panda that we took the picture of when you were 1 years old, I think this is close enough.

You are an amazing big sister to Hailey. You know exactly what she needs to hear when she is sad. You guys like to play together, but sometimes you also infuriate each other. 

4th grade Texas History Wax Museum

Mother's Day 2024

Excited to see all the amazing things you will be doing this year in 5th grade! You are participating in First Lego League Robotics this year and we will be having a competition at the end of this year! 

Until next post, 

Love, 

Mommy