Another Christmas has come and gone. This year we had a simple Christmas, but also one of the better ones. While Hayley did enjoy getting presents, what she really looked forward to was playing with her cousins at all of the family gatherings. She couldn't wait for Christmas Eve and New Years to come, as well as the gathering at Granddad's and Nana's house.
Hayley also determined that Santa must come down the chimney in the front room of our house because the chimney of the Franklin Stove in the family room is too small for him. She also wondered how he gets back up.
Hayley also didn't want to eat the leftover cookies and carrots we left out for Santa and his reindeer because she "didn't want any reindeer germs." We'll see what she thinks next year.
We took Hayley to Gilroy Gardens Holiday Lights again this year. While it was still cold, it was the warmest it's ever been (only in the 40s). We went on a Friday, which was also "Crazy Hair Day" at school, so she still has some of her crazy hair.
As before, Snoopy was there, along with some other Peanuts friends. This year Hayley got to be part of the show. She was brave enough to volunteer and got to ride on Santa Snoopy's sleigh. She also went ice skating and rode the BIG roller coaster.
We also took Hayley to see Peter and the Wolf with Leonard Nimoy (Spock) narrating. Thanks, Nai Nai, for the tickets! Hayley is very much into the Christmas music this year, especially the Nutcracker music.
In school Hayley is doing well both in Kindergarten and at her Chinese schools. She got high marks from her Kindergarten teacher and often is one of the star students listed on the weekly Chinese school reports.
All three of the kindergarten classes at Hayley's school put on a Thanksgiving show. They actually put the show on twice, once for the rest of the school and once for the parents. For the first show, Hayley wore her Pilgrim outfit, and for the second show she wore her American Indian outfit. Each kid had made both costumes so this is how they got to wear both of them.
The raw video of the second show is below. It's about 14 minutes long.
We mercifully only had two Thanksgiving dinners this year. The first at Granddad's and Nana's new house, and the second at the usual Young abode for the Hoo clan. Hayley can't get enough of new cousins Leigh and Lucy and also gave her Felicity doll a new hair style with Auntie Claire. Over at Casa de Young, Hayley could play with her cousins all night if we let her.
Here is the raw video of the Thanksgiving Show. Hayley has a special "Turkey Bearer" part around 6:00. Then stay tuned for (or skip to) the end (12:30) where Hayley has a small "solo." The teacher speaking at the end is Hayley's teacher, Miss Shoan.
It seems that Halloween lasts about three weeks now. Hayley picked out her Belle dress costume back in June. As soon as October hit she wore it as often as she could. She was able to wear it to a birthday/costume party, her school parade, and Halloween night itself. Hayley's school also had a field trip to a pumpkin patch, complete with activities, hay rides, and, of course, pumpkins.
Hayley also went to see another Disney on Ice show, this one celebrating "100 Year of Disney Magic." We can't quite figure out how that works since 100 years ago doesn't align with any major Disney events that we could find. Born in December 1901, he was 6 years old for most of 1908. Mickey Mouse didn't come around intil the late 1920s. Anyway, the show was fun, cheap and we had good seats.
Hayley was also able to see cousins Leigh and Lucy quite a few times and really enjoys playing with them and watching them. They are smiling now and we got a few good shots of them (but not at the same time).
Having a birthday was friend Lauren, who turned 6. Prince Eric and Princess Ariel, from the Little Mermaid, were the special guests. Prince Eric was quite the comedian, as well as balloon animal maker. November is also birthday month for Daddy and a few relatives on Mommy's side of the family. That means more big parties and food and lots of play time with the cousins.
Hayley still loves Star Wars. She watches the new Clone Wars cartoon and also draws Star Wars pictures all of the time. She likes to draw space battles and Yoda, as well as princesses, of course.
Also, here is Hayley's version of The Giving Tree that she did for school.
Today's slide show features another trip to see cousins Lucy and Leigh, some swimming, cousin Alie's 6th birthday, and the chicken dance! Hayley's school put on a small show for the parents. The actual video of the dance is too long for flickr, so I've attached it below. The chicken hat also became her newest accessory to her Belle dress, which everyone will see again at Halloween.
School is in session full time and Hayley also has Chinese school in the afternoons. The Chinese is slowly, but surely, gaining traction; she even had a dream in Chinese once. We also continued the weekly Chinese school on Saturdays. This class is geared more towards Chinese as a second language so we hope that it compliments the immersion classes.
Hayley is also getting better at swimming. She puts he face in the water as she swims and the teacher no longer has to hold her up for the short distances.
Finally, Hayley went to cousin Alie's 6th birthday party at the ice rink where Daddy plays hockey. Hayley really like skating and was very eager to show Alie what she had learned from her two previous outings.
Babies! We have babies! The first set of pictures is from our visit to see Hayley's new cousins Leigh and Lucy. Hayley was beside herself with joy at seeing them! She could not stop smiling and even got to "hold" them each for a bit.
Earlier in the day we took Hayley to the San Jose Discovery Museum where, among other things, she had her face painted. That is why she still has the face paint on in the Leigh and Lucy set. This wasn't Hayley's first trip to the Museum, but it was for Mom and Dad and we were impressed.
The last set is from Hayley's first day of kindergarten! Hayley already describes her class as her "favorite school." She knows a few kids at the school, which always makes things easier. Plus, one of her friends that she met at the park is in her class so that was an unexpected bonus. Also, Hayley has a classmate named Anakin which amused her. They might have some Star Wars conversations over snack time.
How sad is it that it's the middle of August and we're talking about the end of summer? But Hayley's school starts early, Aug 21, so she only has a few more adventures left before kindergarten starts.
This photo set includes a party with visiting cousins, her last day at Kids Club, her waiting at the hospital for Steve and Lisa's babies, a birthday at Pump It Up and a tour of the Jelly Belly factory.
Driving to the Jelly Belly factory we carpooled with Bobo and Ang Ang. Hayley was worried about leaving their car in a parking lot because someone might steal it. Her conversation with Bobo ended like this:
Bobo: If someone takes our car we'll just go to the car store and get a new car!
Hayley: But, Bobo, without a car, how will you get to the car store?
In other news, Hayley is still into Star Wars. She now wants all of the Star Wars toys we see in the stores, particularly Star Wars Lego. Fortunately, Daddy has plenty that she can play with! :)
Today is a special day! Hayley has two new cousins! No pictures yet, but those will come soon. Daddy is using this time in the waiting room, as well as the free WiFi, to finish this blog entry.
Hayley finished her summer camp last week. The "Kids Club" program was just across the street from our house, so it was very convenient. Hayley learned some Chinese and also finished two workbooks meant for kids going into 1st grade. She's a very good reader now and is about to surpass both Mommy and Daddy in her Chinese language ability. Everyone at the school loved Hayley!
Hayley and Daddy also watched all sixStar Wars movies together, as well as the animated Clone Wars series that takes place between episodes II and III (not the new Clone Wars movie, opening soon). Daddy, of course, loved this and was very proud that she really got into the whole story and really understood most of the plot. After hating Darth Vader for most of the movies Hayley cried when he died. "He just turned good!" After watching episode III (where Anakin/Darth Vader turns evil) she wanted to go back and see "Jedi" again so she could see him turn good again.
The second set of pictures is from Hayley's friend Christine's 5th birthday party. The party was at "Build-A-Bear" where the kids get to create their own teddy bear (or dog, or koala). Hayley named her bear "Brownie" because she is, well, brown. Brownie also got a skirt and unicorn shirt and a sound chip that says "I love you."
Two sets of pictures this time. The first is from Hayley's preschool graduation from Monarch and the second is from our trip to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July.
At Hayley's graduation she sang several songs with her class and also played the bells. She even had a small spoken line, but not as much as the Christmas show. Stay tuned for some video later on.
Auntie Lisa and Uncle Steve let us use their Lake Tahoe cabin over the 4th of July weekend. Ang Ang, Bo Bo, Uncle Derek and Auntie Jen joined us for part of the time so that meant lots of eating. Also, more eating.
As previously mentioned, we took Hayley to see Kung Fu Panda. Here she is inspired to sing:
Hayley Rene Chu
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