Happy 6 Years as a Lockhead! Forever Family Day!

Hi again,

Dad here again, and again from Grand Rapids, our home away from home during the Christmas Holidays.  Thanks to Gramma and Poppa Wedder and Uncle Mark and Aunt Avery for their hospitality.

Hard to believe that it's been SIX years...and that's it already Christmas again.  Merry Christmas to all of the Lockheads/Careys wherever you might be this evening.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we'll stay for a week or so.  (Hopefully we'll see some snow this week...we have been very unlucky during the last two trips.  No snow on the ground when we arrive and none while we were here.  Darn global warming...maybe Al Gore's onto something?  Naahhh.  Maybe snow will get here on Thursday?

Anyway...
I just wanted to do a "drive-by" post to commemorate this day.  Christmas Eve will never be the same.

Kyle is doing great - safely asleep with his brother and sister - awaiting SC's visit.  Shortly before we herded everyone upstairs, we check on the Big Man's progress - and yes, "there's an APP for that".  It appeared that he was taking care of Portugal and Spain.

He's halfway through 1st Grade and he loves to learn - he's inquisitive and he's developed exceptional math skills.  He's really starting to accelerate his with his reading skills, as well.  He and Dylan love bike riding whether around the neighborhood or at local parks on the trails.  He's a very caring big brother and he really looks after Ashley and Dylan. That is fun to see.  He's also making a lot of friends at school and exploring more of the things that are interesting him.

He got his first chance to ride the school bus home from school last Friday! (Our schedules unfortunately don't permit this very often.)  Mom waited patiently for the Bus to stop and for Kyle to hop off - IT DID...BUT HE DIDN'T!!  It turns out he missed his stop - luckily the driver knows the route, the neighborhood, and the kids really well - he made second pass and Kyle finally made it off!!  Very funny - Mom didn't seem amused...?

It's been a great week so far.  We went to the movies to see Monsters Inc (3D) with UM, AA, and cousin Luke and Logan.  (Ashley passed out in about 25 minutes - a much better result that the last three times!)  We spent a few moments today with Gramma and Poppa also - showing them the kids' adoption videos and the musical collages we put together for them.  That was fun to do - they are all having a lot more to say about their experiences in China - mostly Dylan, since he had the longest and strongest ties.

Again, as the end of the night approaches, Merry Christmas to the families with whom we traveled to China to meet Kyle.

Just for the record, I have the Charlie Brown / Vince Guaraldi album playing in the background as I type - I make sure to try to listen at least for a few moments every Christmas Eve.

Thanks for checking in and...Happy Gotcha Day, Kyle.

Here are a few recent photos - be sure to check Facebook as well.

Good night and a Merry Christmas to all.
Dad.

Happy 7th Birthday Kyle!!

Hi All, Dad Checking in...

Kyle turns SEVEN (7) years old today.

Happy Birthday!!
 
He is celebrating by putting together a pretty complicated LEGO set that he got as a gift.

Grandma and Poppa are visiting from Grand Rapids and we're enjoying a full "birthday weekend."  We had a small ice cream cake last night after dinner and we sang "Happy Birthday".

Kyle is doing really well and is enjoying 1st Grade - he would go 7 days a week if he could!  He like almost all of his school subjects and seems to excel at Math.

It's hard to believe how the time has melted away - Lisa and I were joking the other day that it was a few weeks after he came home with us until he could even scoot along the floor on his little bottom.  Now he's got tons of strength and confidence, is a great swimmer, has already outgrown his bike, and loves to visit any playground we see.

Here are a few more recent photos...

Walking with Ashley at the Fishing Pier at Seal Beach, CA, during our recent trip to California...

Riding a giant tortoise at the San Diego Zoo...

And Kyle, Mom & Dylan riding the Matterhorn (Very unexpected development, since Kyle is NOT a rollercoaster kid - the Matterhorn is somewhat mild, though and Kyle really loved it.  The most important thing at Disneyland was to "ride the Matterhorn at night".)

Here's to Birthday #7 - We hope you have a great day.

For any visitors,
Please bounce over to our Facebook page for more stories & pictures.

Happy Birthday, Kyle.
We Love You.
Mom & Dad

Just a quick note...

If you've arrived here through a CHOP Adoption Newsletter link, this happens to be Kyle's Story...

Here is Dylan's Story...

Here is Ashley's Story...

Remember - they read from the bottom.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting.

Charlie

Kyle's First Day in FIRST GRADE!!

Hi again, just another drive-by posting to note another small milestone...

Today was Kyle'e FIRST DAY in 1st Grade.

He's been anticipating this day for over a year, when he realized that he missed the cut-off to start last year.

Early in the Summer, he graduated from his Goddard School (this time for good...) Kindergarten class. That was quite a day - we were so proud of his progress and happy that he had made so many friends - and had such an impact on his teachers. It was a very emotional day for all of us...

Since then, excitement had been building toward today.  Kyle, Dylan and Ashley all attended the "Y" camp again for the summer and had a blast.  They really enjoyed all of the activities and the field trips (for the boys), too.

Last week, we were fortunate enough to take the California vacation that we had to postpone due to Ashley's medical issues upon her return from China.  We can't believe that was (2) years ago!  The upside is that we really think they all appreciated the trip even more, since they were two years older and were not completely jet-lagged from a 12 hour flight from Hong Kong.

We had a wonderful week <Check here for Pictures after we get a chance to load them up>.  We spent time in San Diego, saw the Zoo, did Legoland, and visited LaJolla, then we went to Los Angeles to Disneyland & D.'s California Adventure, and had a fun time everywhere (excepting a small number of mini-meltdowns).

We flew home on Saturday and had Sunday to recover (and to let the excitement build even more for Kyle).

Back to First Grade...
Mom took today off from work, to make sure he got to school and settled in.
He was all chattering as they left the house for the 2.5 minute drive to school, but Mom noticed a strange decline in the level of chatter as they got closer to school - until she shut the car off - that when I think it hit him (and there was an awkward silence).  They walked together up to the sign in desk, and Kyle began to well up - it was very overwhelming -- new place ("I don't know where to go...") - new kids ("I don't know who'll be my friend - I don't even know any of them.") - new teachers (this isn't Goddard School) - and no Dylan and Ashley...

Once she signed him in and looked down to his little face the dam broke for him...and soon for her as well.  He didn't want her to go and she didn't want to leave him like that - so they were immediately assisted by a very nice teacher who, along with Mom's help, was able to help him pull it together.  He was able to say good-bye to Mom, and he walked away to his first first grade activity: coloring.

Mom picked him up a little early and he seemed very content and pleased with himself that he was able to redirect his day to be a very good (and memorable) one.  By the end of the afternoon, when we reunited at dinner-time (over Mom's Mac & Cheese), we was confidently chattering again, telling us about all of the great stuff he did, about all of the new parts of his school, about his new friends and classmates, about his new teacher...and paying special attention to explaining 1st Grade to Dylan and Ashley.

And so it goes...Kyles's over the hurdle, he's on his way, he'll be fine.

As for me & Mom...we'll never be the same.
What an absolute joy it's been to watch him grow into the little person he is.

Thanks for visiting.
Dad

A Big Day - Kyle Lost his first tooth!

Hi again, Dad here, just passing through with a drive-by post noting that Kyle has lost his first tooth.

He's been watching many of his school friends losing teeth (almost every day it seems) and now he can finally join the club.

It took a while but, after not being able to sleep one night last week, due to the major distraction of this loose tooth, Kyle finally (bravely I'd say) yanked the bugger out all by himself.

Here is the proof:

We'll be back, hopefully soon.

Until then thanks for visiting.

 C