Mia is 15 months old!

Mia turned 15 months old on September 17th and we had her 15 month check up today. So far all of her tests have come back negative except she still has a microcytic anemia (she has small red blood cells). This confirms that she does have a thalassemia but it is not serious since her hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal and she does not have any symptoms. Her pediatrician is not at all concerned but is going to have a hematologist look at her labs.

At 15 months Mia:
-weighs 19 pounds, 8.5 ounces and is 29 1/4 inches tall (about 10th percentile for height and weight)...this means she has gained a little over 2 pounds and grown almost 2 inches since she joined our family in June!
-walks well, and is starting to run
-has only 4 teeth but can eat anything (she loves to eat)
-sleeps 11 hours at night and takes 2 naps during the day (1 to 2 hours each).
-loves to play outside with her brother every day (she can go down her small slide by herself and she rides on her own little scooter while Nick rides his big wheel)
-still does not like the cat very much but occasionally will pet her
-is a celebrity at Nick's school (every day she finds herself surrounded by kids and/or teachers...they LOVE her)
-has a friend, Samantha, who lives down the street and is only 3 months younger and is also Vietnamese
- yells "Da-Da" when Daddy comes home
-says mama, dada, baby, bye-bye, ba ba (for Babcia, her grandma), look
-still drinks 3 bottles per day

Nick's Birthday Party

We went to Gable House Bowl this year for Nick's birthday party. We had a great time! The service was fantastic, and John's Mom was watching Mia, so I had the opportunity to chat with all of the parents. Lets see...this year we invited 17 kids including the Van D's, Johoske's, Crean's, the Cha's, O'Briens, and Rory, Robert, Whitney, Nicholas G, Christian P, and Peter.

The Birthday Circle

Today we celebrated Nick's birthday at school. I brought 72 bean and cheese burritos, strawberries and cookies for the class. The teachers organized a birthday circle for Nick; he wore a special crown, held the earth and circled around the sun for each year of his life while the teachers and other children sang a special song. It went like this:

"I began my life in the Milkyway Galaxy on the planet Earth. Being born on the continent North Amerida, in the country of the United States of America, everyone welcomed me to Santa Monica, California. I arrived from my mother's body at Santa Monica/UCLA Hospital at 10:01am. I was 8 pounds, 4 ounces".

-When I was a baby I learned to crawl
-When I was one year old I learned to walk
-When I was 2 years old I learned to talk
-When I was 3 years old I learned to work the computer
-When I was 4 years old I learned to read
-When I was 5 years old I learned tae kwon do and t-ball
-Now I am 6 years old and I have a new sister named Mia
-My favorite color is red
-My favorite food is sushi
-What I love most about my life is my friends, family, and teachers

It's Nick's 6th Birthday

We had him invite a couple of friends to Chuck E Cheese for the afternoon. He invited his friend, Ayden, from school, and his good friend Ethan and his brother Ryan. I had a great time chatting with the Moms and hanging out. The boys had a blast. And Mia insisted on riding in Chuck's car at least 8 times in a row. She had such a great time!

"I love Mia 1001"

Nick told me yesterday that he is sorry but he loves Mia 1001 and me and Daddy 1000. I asked him why and he said "I love her slobbery kisses, her chubby belly, and her squishy cheeks".

Nick is pretty open with his feelings. His teacher told me that the first week we were back from Vietnam she overheard him telling his best friend that he loves her.

Mia's first portraits

Isn't she just adorable?! I love her little dress...my cousin gave it to us while we were in Hawaii. We were in the portrait studio for a looong time. Mia is walking pretty well now wants to explore everything. She didn't want to sit still and was a little bit mad at us for making her pose. I think this is why we couldn't get her to smile much.

Nick has his blue belt

Nick passed his test and got his blue belt on Tuesday. This means he can now attend the advanced TKD classes. He did great during the test and answered all of the questions correctly. He had a hard time remembering "turn around" in Korean which is dwee row do rah but he answered it correctly during the test.

Our last couple of days in Hawaii

Saturday:

We took Daniel out for dinner for his birthday at the Willow's Restaurant (my favorite since I was a kid). Aunt Peggy, Uncle Willie, Aunt Pat, Uncle Larry and the 4 of us went. It is an all you can eat buffet; Mia really enjoyed herself because she loves to eat!! She tried everything, she even liked the poi! Aunt Peggy gave her a beautiful jade necklace from all of the Aunties. I know she will love it when she is older.

Sunday:

We went out for Korean BBQ again! And later Daniel hung out with us at the hotel. Daniel, Mia, and I went for a walk along the main drag in Waikiki...I think we walked the whole length of Waikiki. Mia enjoyed the walk...she seemed content to sit in the stroller and take in the sights.

Monday:

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone. We will really miss everyone, especially Daniel who took leave to hang out with us. We will see him in December though. I wish we were able to spend more time with Aunt Peg and Uncle Willie. I hope we can do this next time...they are so fun to hang out with.

Some cute pictures of Mia in Hawaii

Mia loves the phone. She pretends that everything is a phone. Here she is with a pickle to her ear, and later a piece of pineapple.