Trip to PA

We spent the whole day in the car traveling from IC to PA. Assen watched a few movies in the DVD player. It was a very cold day and very windy. Assen liked the Harry Potter movie and also the High School Musical. We had dinner in Toledo's Applebee's.

Ritalin

Assen is trying medication to see if his attention improves. I was really surprised to see Assen playing the piano this morning! He concentrated on his lesson and played it several times. I had never seen him playing so concentrated and for so long. He continues to amaze us in many ways. We had our first snow storm last Sunday. The kids played on the snow and rode their sled. I posted a video of Assen in youtube (link). He tells us what we can do with the homeless people.

Iowa 55 Minnesota 0

Enjoyed watching the Hawkeyes beat the Gophers at an evening game. This morning I wenyt for a run outside (4.3 miles in 50 min). It's cold outside but I was well covered.

Iowa Hawkeyes 22 Purdue Boilers 17

The hawkeyes did it again! It was a tough game until the last second. Assen went to his piano class and his TKD class this morning. Wild fires in California cannot be controlled. The Santa Ana winds!

Iowa Hawkeyes 24 Penn State 23

Assen had his piano lesson in the morning followed by his Tae-Kwan-Do class. We started watching the football game and then we enjoyed the visit of some new friends Buster and Azalea. We had so much fun talking and the kiddos playing together. I wanted to know what was the score of the game so I checked on my computer. Surprise! The Hawkeyes beat Penn State 24 to 23!

Obama wins election

There was a big race between McCain and Obama. Democrats won and hopefully there will be change. Interestingly, not many faculty talked about the election at work. It seems to me that people are so sensitive to talking about races. The next years to come should be very very interesting. Gas prices are still down (1.99 per gallon).

Assen was not feeling well yesterday, so he had to go and stay home for at least one more day. Tried calling grandma, but had no luck. He had a bad night, but he seems to be handling it alright. Hope he feels better soon, so he can be ready for his Tae-Kwan-Do class on saturday. Assen surprised us last night reading some short sentences from a children's book. Way to go! He made us very happy.

Time to take measurements and see how much Assen has grown. Wow, 126 cm (49.5 in) long! This boy is going to be a giant!

Frytown Conservation Area

Assen is taking piano lessons on Saturdays. He lost another tooth this week. He is very interested in stars and planets. Hopefully, we'll watch the movie Apollo 13 this weekend. We found a hiking area (N 41 35.041 W 91 42.754) in a place called Frytown. I wonder if I can get in touch with the conservation board and see if we can place a cache in the area. That would be so cool.

School starts on Monday. We met Assen's teacher and learned that two of his old friends will be with him in the classroom. Assen is taking piano lessons and he is doing pretty well. We watch the Olympics some time. Michael Phelps has won seven gold medals. He is such a great swimmer!

Assen lost a tooth last night while brushing. The fairytooth brought a dollar in exchange. He did not seem very excited about getting just one dollar bill. He said I could have it and buy a new GPSr or an ammo box for a new geocache. Oh well!

Rode our bikes in the bike trail in Cedar Rapids. We enjoyed the trail very much. Assen is still riding his bike using the training wheels, but he is doing a lot of improvement in his riding. Yesterday, we also rode our bikes, from Oakdale to North Liberty. Then, we went to the tennis courts near our house. I bet Assen will need a lot of sleep tonight..

Yesterday, we celebrated the 4th of July by going to two parades! the one in Coralville and the one in Williamsburg, double treat of candy!
Today, we rode our bikes all the way from Oakdale to North Liberty and enjoyed lunch at DQ. It was a tough ride for Assen, and it was worse for mom who had to help him in all steep hills. But, we all made it. It was a nice warm summer day.

Assen is 122 cm high. We went to check some of the flooding in Iowa City. I took my video camera and Assen pretended to be a TV man. Some people were snadbagging around Los Portales, but we think water will not get so high. Hills Bank in front of Los Portales got hit pretty bad with the flooding.

Assen's weight: 54.5 lbs. Had dinner at Los Portales, as usual. Met Beth who was weraing a Hanna Montana t-shirt and Hanna Montana tennis shoes.

Assen looks so tall now [compared to little Sophia]. I measured his height today: 4 feet! 122 cms! [OK, he is still the same height he was a month ago, for some reason, he just looks taller].
We just came back from China. Assen went to school today, and his classmates had a few surprises for him! He got this t-shirt with a picture of him and Sophia, and also a Big card with the picture, signed by all his dear classmates!

Visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Hutong Tour. After a long day of sight seeing, we walked [again] to find a place to have lunch. The food was not very appetizing. Assen walked to a waitress and convinced her that he wanted a pepperoni pizza. The waitress did not understand him, so she showed him a menu with pictures. He pointed to the picture of a pepperoni pizza, and voila! in about ten more minutes, he had a pepperoni pizza!

Riviera Maya 2008

Just came back from Spring Break last night. We enjoyed spending a week in Mexico at the Catalonia -Riviera Maya Hotel. We swam everyday and also visited the dolphines nearby.

Drank pina-coladas by the swimming pool and met lots of children that played with me!

Can't believe it is still snowing here in Iowa!
Height: 123 cm

There was a Music Festival today at School. Dad and mom forgot about it, so I felt nervous to be in front of so many parents. Fortunately, dad showed up. He was late, but he was there. He also went into my classroom and sat down with me. He saw how Mrs. H read a book to the children, and then we had Family Time. At night, I sang a few songs to mom and dad, and dad videotaped me singing!

Watched a DVD from October 2005. Assen looked small and he was trying to learn English very fast. We went to kent Park for a walk, 1.5 miles. Found a geocache. Getting ready for the trip south.

Karen tested Assen's knowledge of letters (upper case). Assen knew 26 out of 26. Lower case, he knew 22/23 out of 26. She randomly picked the letters, and he knew them. That's not what we hear from his school. We wonder if the stimuli at school gets him distracted (?). I asked him to count how many cheerios I put on the table. Assen counted just fine up to 29. He didn't know the number that followed 29.
Getting ready for our trip to Mexico. Starting sorting clothes to put in the suitcase.

I brought home a bird house I made at school. I also took the initiative to clean my dad's bathroom while mom was cleaning the rest of the house. I'm a good helper. Also, told mom and dad the story of the bird house.

Last night we watched the movie "The Astronaut Farmer." We enjoyed it very much. It's so nice to have dreams and be able to accomplish them. We also went to PartyZone to my friend's party, Ryan. I ran into my friend Sophie and I played with her.

Went to Weber last night and had fun at the Children's Carnival. Dad was in charge of the SnowMan Pitch. Saw lots of my friends. Went for dinner to Los Portales. Made some new friends and they let me take pictures with their cell-phone. I took lots of pictures singing Karoeke.

We went to the cultural diversity festival at the UI yesterday. I enjoyed listening to music from different cultures and countries. Some Chinese students wrote my sister's name on a card using Chinese characters, we'll put it in her life-book. I also ran into several friends from my school and I talked to them. It was a lot of fun.

Enjoyed my gymnastics class this morning. I have one more class next Saturday. Flat Stanley is going back to Irvine after a two week visit. I helped setting up the table this morning and I am practicing how to write letters. Dad and mom are very happy with my writing.

Why do some kids make fun of others? why can't they entertain themselfs with something else? are they hurting inside and want others to be hurting too?

Starting a new blogspot for Assen

OK. I have realized how easy it is to create blogspots. So, it's about time to create one for Assen. This will be a way to keep track of his progress, events, etc. Today, A and K went to Bethany's Playshop. H could not go because he had to work from 12:30 to 4:30 PM. Assen likes to play saying how many fingers I show him with my hands. He can do very well when I show him fingers with one hand. He also learned six, seven and eight, but he has trouble with nine. We'll keep practicing. He likes to be tickled when he says the number right. Height: 121 cm (47.6 in), Weight: 53 lbs.