Grandpa, Grandma Chris,Grandma Millie

Last Tuesday we left Chattanooga for our vacation to Florida. We went to Wesley Chapel for a few days to see my dad, stepmom, and grandmother. Grandma Millie had not yet met Maggie. We had a great visit and Maggie was so good. On the way down, she never cried, whined, or complained. We went to my dad's on Tuesday night for dinner, met my grandma Millie on Wednesday and went out to lunch as a family. After lunch we went to the beach, for what I can assume was Maggie's first beach visit. It was very cold so we didn't stay long. When Maggie first stepped on the sand, she immediately stepped back and wiped her shoe off. It was very cute. Our visit with grandma Millie went great and Maggie took to her quickly. I'm sure all the gifts she received helped a little bit. We wish we lived closer to spend more time with her.

After the beach we went with my dad and stepmom to a new outdoor mall where Maggie got to ride a train not once, but Twice! She was excited and it was a great prelude to the end of the week. We went to eat dinner and then back to the hotel. Thursday morning we met for breakfast before heading to Orlando. We hated to say good bye. My dad and Chris had some goodies for Maggie as well. As if she wasn't spoiled enough.

Homework and dishes

Last week, Maggie was given homework by her speech pathologist. She loved getting homework and was excited to do the activities. Because of this, we went out last weekend to the "school box" and got her more homework. We got a couple of activity books, a cd-rom, some scissors (left handed for her) and a book to read. She was so excited to get these things. Her two favorite things to play with at the moment are the computer, and my new phone. She sat at the computer for over an hour playing with her new learning cd.

She also loves helping with the dishes, and is becoming an "expert" with the sprayer.

Valentine's Day

We had a wonderful weekend and a great Valentine's day! Maggie enjoyed opening her cards (especially the one that sang "you are my sunshine", as Barbara sings that to her all of the time). We went to eat lunch with Barbara's mom and aunt, walked around the mall, and Maggie and Barbara had their nails done (what I got both of them for Valentine's Day). We then came home and cooked out hamburgers. Today I had off and was able to see Maggie's gymnastics class. She is getting so good! We went to eat with Mia and her family and then went to Mia's to play. Maggie was soooo tired, but hung in there until about 8:00.

Last weekend we had Barbara's mom, aunt and cousin Beth over for dinner. Beth brought Maggie her own rake and gloves to help me out in the yard this spring. She LOVED them!

We are getting ready to go to Florida on March 3rd. We will be visiting my dad and stepmom and grandmother for a couple of days and will then head to Disney World. I can't wait to see how Maggie reacts to seeing all there is at disney. We will go to the Magic Kingdom one day and to Animal Kingdon another, before coming home on Sunday.

Maggie's "gotcha day" anniversary is on March 17th and we are trying to plan on what to do for the occassion. Any ideas are welcome. I can't believe it's been almost a year since we go to hold our little princess for the first time. She is an amazing child and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

CNY Party

Last Saturday was our Chinese New Year party with the local FCC (Families with Children from China) group. The turnout was amazing and everyone had such a great time. As always, Maggie and Mia were inseparable and played and played and played. It was nice seeing old friends and making new ones. Everything turned out great. The party gets bigger and bigger each year. We had the food catered this year (Barbara and Jennifer took care of this, and did great), we had a professional photographer, and there were a bunch of crafts for all the kids. We have made such great friends through this group, and Maggie will have all kinds of friends as she grows older through the families we have met.

Happy New Year!!!!

Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year for the year of the Ox. To celebrate, we went to eat at P.F. Chang's. We will have another celebration on Saturday with our local FCC Group.

taking it easy

The New Year has been pretty uneventful, which is not a bad thing. Maggie continues to be doing great and we can't imagine being without her. We had a pretty busy weekend after two weeks of relaxing and taking it easy. Barbara has begun to pick up Rachel after school most days, so Maggie has had fun playing with her. Rachel's dad used to work with Barbara at Averitt Express and they have been so good to Maggie.

Barbara's cousin Julie stayed with us on Friday night on her way from Florida to Iowa. We went to eat with Barbara's mom and aunt and came home to watch The Dark Knight.

On Saturday afternoon, we took Maggie to Sesame Street Live. She really enjoyed it, as she is a big fan of Elmo. It was not as big an event as Disney on Ice, but it was worth going just to see the smile on Maggie's face. On Saturday evening my friend Steve and his family came by for dinner. His daughter, Jenna, had a cheerleading competition in town and it was great to see them.

Today was a holiday so I had the day off. I got to go see Maggie's gymnastics class followed by lunch with Mia and her family and a trip to Playworld Down Under. Maggie had a great day, and was exhausted by the time we got home.

Next weekend Barbara and I plan to go to the movies while Maggie stays with Barbara's mom and aunt. It will be the first time Maggie has been away from both of us at the same time and she has promised us that she won't cry. The following weekend is our Chinese New Year celebration with other local families with children from China. We have been to the celebration the last two years, but this is the first we'll go to with Maggie. She will have a great time. We are also planning a vacation to Disney and the Tampa area in February or March, so we have much to look forward to.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's been quite a busy week and a half in our lives, and I finally have some down time to write about our wonderful experience.

On Christmas eve, Barbara's dad drove down from Murfreesboro and spent the night with us. Barbara's mom also came over as did Barbara's cousin Beth and her family. We had a dinner of appetizers and had such a wonderful time visiting. Maggie was so excited during this whole time and really seemed to enjoy these times.

Before Maggie went to bed on Christmas eve, we made sure to put some reindeer food in our yard so that Santa Claus wouldn't miss us. We set out an abundant amount of christmas cookies for Santa along with a big glass of strawberry milk (Maggie's favorite). Maggie fell asleep quickly after our company left, and we followed shortly after. Santa had ample time to visit our house, and boy did he visit.

Maggie woke up at her normal 7ish on Christmas morning and was so excited to see what Santa may have brought her. We went down the stairs in a hurry, and to Maggie's amazement, in plain view were her kitchen, mickey mouse clubhouse, a mickey mouse tent, and a mini indoor trampoline! Maggie was speechless and overwhelmed for several minutes, and it was so touching to see her sweet face react to what she saw. The moment lasted just long enough before she was playing, smiling, laughing, and really enjoying herself.

A short time later, Barbara's mother arrived, at which time Maggie was able to open her presents from Mommy and Daddy and everyone else. She got alot of fun things, and had a great time opening presents. She had to assist each and everyone of us with our opening as well.

My mom came by a short time later that morning and we had a wonderful Christmas meal and visit. My mother spent the night with us and had lunch with us on Friday.

On Sunday, Barbara, Maggie and myself, along with Barbara's mom and aunt drove to Baltimore, MD to visit Barbara's brother and his three daughters. We had a great time, although it was a short visit. Maggie really enjoyed playing with her cousins, and didn't want to leave. We spent Monday at a local mall with lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, and we went to Washington D.C. on Wednesday for a visit to our Capitol. On Wednesday, we hung around all day and enjoyed a fabulous meal prepared by her brother, and rang in the new year unspectacularly (Maggie was asleep by 10, and I followed soon thereafter). Barbara was the only one of us to watch the ball drop. We left her brother's at about 8 AM on New Year's day and spent our day traveling. Maggie was such a good girl in the car. She slept a little, watched a few dvd's, and not once complained. She amazes us more every day. Today we were able to unwind and relax, while putting away our Christmas tree and decorations. Maggie wasn't happy that Christmas has ended, and still goes around saying "Ho! Ho! Ho!. Maggie fell asleep at 7 AM tonight, so the trip did tire all of us.

2008 was amazing in the Haimelin household, and 2009 will be great as well. We wish everyone happiness for the New Year and look forward to spending more valuable time with our family and friends.