December 2010

Maia Yanchen: newest Kowalski

COVER STORY: Rapid City, SD. The Kowalski home grew by another two feet this year with the adoption of 14-month-old daughter Maia Yanchen on July 5.

The whole Kowalski family, father Travis, mother Kristin Bailey, and daughter Liliana, along with proud nana Judi F, headed to China for three weeks in June and July to complete the adoption proces and bring Maia home to the United States (see related story in Column 3).

Now 20 months old, Maia is a beautiful little girl with an ear-to-ear smile, an infectuous laugh, and a limitless capacity for mischief. She was born in the Guizhou Province of China, which as fate would have it is also where Liliana was born. Maia loves to laugh, play with her sister, and cuddle with her parents.

Within one month of arriving in the U.S., Maia learned to crawl and then walk. She communicates with an ever-growing American Sign Language vocabulary. Maia began speaking, her favorite words being Sister, Mama, Dada, and Taggie (her security blanket).

Even though her left hand is underformed, missing all its fingers, this hasn't slowed Maia down in the slightest. Kowalski family insiders expect big things from this kid in the upcoming year.

Welcome to the family, Maia!

Travis tenured

It took two years to prepare, but Travis' tenure application was approved by the South Dakota Regents in early summer. As expected, Travis has been busy with all things mathematical. He published a technical paper in PAMQ, presented at the MAA meeting in Fort Collins, and is busy finishing up two more expository papers. He was also honored with a R₂OPE award by the students of Connelley Hall.

When he's not busy with school work, Travis is revelling in the joys of double-dadhood, which includes twice the tickles, twice the kisses, and ten times the exhaustion.

Feliz Navideja vu!

Older issues of the Chronicle are now online!

2009 Christmas Chronicle
2008 Christmas Chronicle
2007 Christmas Chronicle

Merry Christmas
&
Happy Holidays!

Liliana: big sister, big sass

2010 was a BIG year for eldest daughter Liliana in many ways.

Now four years old, Liliana is tall, skinny, full of energy (which might explain the skinny bit), and a self proclaimed "Sassy Rock Star." As you might expect, she still loves to sing, and is now in dance class, so expect her on American Idol in a few seasons. In fact, she's active all around, and loves to ride her bike, hike, swing, climb on monkey bars, and swim.

Liliana is excited about starting school next year. She's mastered writing the ABC's and 123's, and loves reading books from the library. Liliana is also very artistic, and loves to draw and paint portraits and landscapes. (She churns them out at a prolific rate, so watch out Peter Max.) She has taken an interest in building things, and has constructed several wooden toys with her father during weekend workshops at the local Lowe's.

The biggest change, though, is being a big sister. Liliana loves Maia, and is a doting, caring sibling. Though initially wary of her big sister, Maia is now inseparable from Liliana, and Liliana watches out for her, plays with her, and (occasionally) gets a little frustrated by her omni- present Mini-Me.

Of course, there's not nearly enough room in this Christmas edition to document all of Liliana's adventures from 2010! Fortunately, these are well documented in Travis' series of Monthly Newsletters.

Kristin Bailey busy in big easy

Kristin Bailey continues to be busy with the Leadership team at Dakota Middle School, actively engaged in finding new ways to make math exciting for students. October found her in New Orleans for a conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, where she learned about math pedagogy and met Mythbuster Kari Byron.

Kristin Bailey has also taken a renewed interest in photography, no doubt inspired by her two beautiful daughters. Her fantastic photography graces the Christmas Chronicle, and can be found on her blog.

"Ni hao" China, again

The Kowalski family, Travis, Kristin Bailey, and Liliana, together with Kristin's mother Judi F, traveled to China for three weeks this summer to adopt the newest Kowalski, Maia Yanchen. This marks the first visit to China since Liliana's adoption in 2006.

The family enjoyed revisiting famous sights like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in Beijing and the Qingling "Monkey" Park in Guiyang. They also experienced new ones as well, such as the Beijing Zoo and Aquarium, the Huangguoshu Waterfall in Anshun, and some truly authentic (by which we mean insanely spicy) local Chinese food.

The trip was extra special for Liliana, who not only got a new sister, but also had the chance to meet her foster family on July 4. Though the Americans spoke no Chinese and the Chinese spoke no English, the two families shared a special dinner together sharing in the joy of a daughter.

It was a fun and special trip for the Kowalskis, and interested parties will no doubt enjoy Kristin Bailey's detailed stories about it on her blog.

Maia strives to be local yokel

Despite having only a month of summer left after coming to the United States, Maia and her new family made every effort to see every tourist trap in the Black Hills in 2010. Also with grandmother Judi F, she did some sightseeing at Bear Country USA and Mount Rushmore, zipped down the Keystone Alpine Slide, camped out for dinner at Custer State Park, and hitched a ride on an authentic chuckwagon.

Insiders report Maia's interest in seeing the world's largest ball of twine and Car-Henge next summer.