August
2008
With
summer school over we decided to enroll Tyler in swim classes. For two weeks
straight Alana and Tyler drove the 15+ miles to Lompoc and their Aquatic Center
for introductory swim classes. For the first 15 minutes of the first class Tyler
wanted nothing to do with the instructor, but after Alana told the instructor
to just take him in the water Tyler realized what fun it was. After that it was
no problem getting him in the water and getting him to participate. He's still
a little leery about getting his head wet and putting his face completely under
water, but he'll dip his face in for about a second. Hey, it's a good start.
Things went so well he'll be continuing with swim classes twice a week in the
Fall.
August 9th Alana's friend Gillian gave birth to her second child, her first
girl, named Penelope Grace. Alana was there for the whole birthing process. It
was her first time witnessing it in person, but managed to stay conscious the
whole time and passed the test with flying colors. Penelope is a spitting image
of her big brother Harrison (who is a great big brother!) and was born with a
full head of hair. When Alana brought Tyler to see the baby for the first time
and she told him it was Harrison's sister Tyler immediately asked where his
sister was! It was so touching and Alana felt bad having to tell him that his
sister wasn't here yet. Hopefully Chinese adoption will speed up and that will
happen sometime next year. In the meantime we wait... and wait... and wait...
At the end of the month Bill had to take a week long trip to Detroit for a
business trip so Alana and Tyler drove up to Grandma and Grandpa Mok's house to
spend some time with them before school starts up next month. Alana's cousin
Frances and her family came out for a West Coast vacation and stayed one night
as well. It was great since they had never met Tyler before. Tyler had a great
time meeting and playing with his second cousins. Hopefully we'll get to spend
a longer amount of time with them in the near future.
Finally, on the last day of the month, Labor Day weekend, we traded in our
gas-guzzling Expedition and bought a brand new Ford Flex. We don't have exactly
the same amount of passenger space as we did with the Expedition, but the gas
savings more than makes up for it. We chose the color called Metallic Cinnamon
with a white top and black leather interior. Alana was done with light colored
leather after having tan leather in the Expedition. We got a great deal on it
thanks to Bill's brother's employee discount (thanks Bob!) and we were the
first customers to buy a Flex from the dealership. They're hoping we drum up
some interest in the area like a walking (ok, driving) advertisement.
Click
on a picture to see a larger version.
Tyler's Swim Classes
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The first day |
Tyler did best at jumping |
Ring-around-the-rosie in the pool |
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Kick! |
Blowing bubbles |
Tyler actually did really well with his
back kick |
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Penelope Grace Esparza – August 9, 2008
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So cute! |
Harrison loves to hold his baby sister |
Trip to Grandma and Grandpa Mok’s House
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At breakfast with Frances, Newland,
Stephanie and Phoebe |
The elders and the youngsters |
The Thai clan |
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Tyler gets a snack after a dip in Grandma
and Grandpa’s pool |
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Alana’s New Car
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