It's getting closer
Our official leave date for Taiwan is now December 13! I can't believe it's so soon - less than three weeks away. We are going to Beijing for a week before flying to Arizona to visit with family for Christmas and then home to Texas right before Christmas. I am starting to get really excited. There's quite a bit to do before we leave, mainly just figuring out what to ship home and what to keep here for moving onto China next year.
The girls are doing good. I think it's starting to hit Ashley though that we are leaving and it's gonna be a bit hard on her at first. We were at Chili's the other night and she was in a really funky mood - not wanting to talk to Winter or go inside and play with all the staff, which is what she usually does. She actually started tearing up when I asked what was wrong and why she didn't want to go see Winter. She wouldn't say anything, but we finally figured out that she'd seen some boxes we packed up in the living room and had realized we were moving. She said she would miss Winter - we'll miss her too! Once we talked a bit about it, Ashley was happy again and went to talk with Winter and staff. Winter gave the girls some princess charms - too cute. We keep talking to the girls about going home to see all the grandparents. Last night at dinner, Liz said "go grandad's house" and kept pointing to a picture we have of the girls and grandad - she's very excited to be going.
They both started ballet class last week - it was interesting. I think I'm gonna have to leave next time so they pay more attention - as Liz kept coming out to see me and hang with me instead of stay in the class. They looked so cute in their little outfits. Liz did about 1/2 the things that the older kids did. The class is pre-ballet, so it's from ages 2-4 - both girls are in the same class. With Ashley's gymnastics class on Thursday and ballet on Friday, I noticed a bit of a trend that we're gonna have to address with her. It seems that she's gotten used to a lot of one on one attention in a classroom setting. So, when she doesn't get the attention she wants, she acts up - interrupting teacher, saying inappropriate things, acting inappropriately, etc. When she didn't get the attention she wanted in ballet, she went off in a corner and didn't participate in the class for about 15 minutes. I've spoken to her about it, so we'll see how this week goes. I guess it will be interesting once we are back in the States and she's not glorified for being white and cute anymore, how much her attention grabbing skills will be used.
The baby and I are doing just fine. He's kicking and moving all around like crazy. I can't believe that I have three more months of this - he seems to be so big already, I don't know how my body will handle the rest of the pregnancy. The yoga has helped and hopefully, I'll be able to continue taking that once I am back home. I have started to have lots of ligament stretching pains, along with the sore rib spot that I've had with all my pregnancies. I bought a pregnancy belt the other day, which helps to lift up my belly and give my back some support.
I got to watch the Vikings play football today - that was fun, especially since they won and beat the Packers. We get Sunday and Monday night football games here but it's rare that we actually get to see one of our teams play. Anthony has gotten us tickets to go to a Cowboys game up in Dallas while we are visiting his family. That should be fun and something we are both looking forward to.
The girls are doing good. I think it's starting to hit Ashley though that we are leaving and it's gonna be a bit hard on her at first. We were at Chili's the other night and she was in a really funky mood - not wanting to talk to Winter or go inside and play with all the staff, which is what she usually does. She actually started tearing up when I asked what was wrong and why she didn't want to go see Winter. She wouldn't say anything, but we finally figured out that she'd seen some boxes we packed up in the living room and had realized we were moving. She said she would miss Winter - we'll miss her too! Once we talked a bit about it, Ashley was happy again and went to talk with Winter and staff. Winter gave the girls some princess charms - too cute. We keep talking to the girls about going home to see all the grandparents. Last night at dinner, Liz said "go grandad's house" and kept pointing to a picture we have of the girls and grandad - she's very excited to be going.
They both started ballet class last week - it was interesting. I think I'm gonna have to leave next time so they pay more attention - as Liz kept coming out to see me and hang with me instead of stay in the class. They looked so cute in their little outfits. Liz did about 1/2 the things that the older kids did. The class is pre-ballet, so it's from ages 2-4 - both girls are in the same class. With Ashley's gymnastics class on Thursday and ballet on Friday, I noticed a bit of a trend that we're gonna have to address with her. It seems that she's gotten used to a lot of one on one attention in a classroom setting. So, when she doesn't get the attention she wants, she acts up - interrupting teacher, saying inappropriate things, acting inappropriately, etc. When she didn't get the attention she wanted in ballet, she went off in a corner and didn't participate in the class for about 15 minutes. I've spoken to her about it, so we'll see how this week goes. I guess it will be interesting once we are back in the States and she's not glorified for being white and cute anymore, how much her attention grabbing skills will be used.
The baby and I are doing just fine. He's kicking and moving all around like crazy. I can't believe that I have three more months of this - he seems to be so big already, I don't know how my body will handle the rest of the pregnancy. The yoga has helped and hopefully, I'll be able to continue taking that once I am back home. I have started to have lots of ligament stretching pains, along with the sore rib spot that I've had with all my pregnancies. I bought a pregnancy belt the other day, which helps to lift up my belly and give my back some support.
I got to watch the Vikings play football today - that was fun, especially since they won and beat the Packers. We get Sunday and Monday night football games here but it's rare that we actually get to see one of our teams play. Anthony has gotten us tickets to go to a Cowboys game up in Dallas while we are visiting his family. That should be fun and something we are both looking forward to.
posted by The Armstrongs at
11/22/2005
