And we're back!

That's right - we're back to blogging. No pictures right now (just updated OS on my computer and have none on the hard drive right now - stay tuned for later updates!), but a LOT of catching up to do. Do you see that newborn picture of Surya on my last post? That little guy is now 2.5, running around the house and chatting away. I should be putting him to bed right now (it's 9:28pm!), but I know that effort is unlikely to bring any results - Surya just woke up from a nap about 1.5hrs ago.

Let me start with updates from this last year. 2009 has been a great year for our family. Nalini started Kindergarten - she is going to a Mandarin-Immersion program. Now, 1.5 years into the program (1st grade now), her Mandarin fluency and pronunciation are undistinguishable from a native speaker's. Her vocabulary needs some improvement, of course, but apart from that she is really speaking it! It was great to watch her mature up during her Kindergarten year, and finish her first school year as a confident, happy little girl :). Over the summer, she experienced big, big developmental leaps - she learned how to bike (without the training wheels, that is), she learned how to swim, and she taught herself how to read and write (in English - reading and writing in Mandarin was already there). She also has had a huge improvement with her guitar playing - she plays now four songs: Twinlkle, Little Monkey, Lightly Row and Go Tell Aunt Rhody - not bad!

Taj jas also grown up a lot since my last posting. He is now a confident 4-year old boy, and a little chatter box. The most delightful thing about him is his huge imagination - he is always imagining new stories and acting them out. He is a very curious child and very engaging with other people. And what a sweetheart he is :). He loves to bike and to go horseback riding. He took about 6 months of guitar classes, and was doing really well (although he slept through his two recitals!). In the summer, after coming back from Brazil, he decided to take a break from guitar - I'm hoping he'll get back to it soon, I very much enjoy his music :) And he says he wants to become the President - he certainly will make an excellent leader!

Surya certainly developed the most since my last post! At 2.5 years, he is a ball of energy - "nunca para". He loves sports of all kinds, particularly fencing, soccer and basketball. He already can dribble a basketball nicely - not bad! He also loves to go biking with his siblings. Surya is very eloquent and has no problem communicating his opinions :). He loves singing! And slowly - but surely - he's improving his eating habits, from expanding his taste for new foods to actually seating and eating a whole meal.

Jamila and Ana also accomplished a lot this year! Ana completed her first ever triathlon (and what fun it was!), and joined the swimming masters' team. She also has been working hard at making her business grow. Jamila is taking Spanish classes (and doing a huge progress in the foreign language front), and has discovered a passion for audio recording and mastering, which led him to learn a lot about this subject this year! He also was a huge factor behind Ana's successful completion of her triathlon, both with providing support and infra-structure for training to helping her design a training plan and getting her through running exercises - Yay team!

This was just a short update in the spirit of let's-get-back-to-blogging-all-the-time. In that spirit, stay tuned, and a post will follow soon, and - who knows? - maybe even some pictures.