Working on establishing a routine.

We were working on establishing a bedtime routine for SS in July, with her going to bed at 8:00 p.m., and it was working well. Then Dragon Boat weekend came along and we completely derailed. SS ended up spending three nights in bed with us, since we were tired, sore, and in no mood to be responsible parents. As expected, SS seized the opportunity and was well on her way to another squatting stint.  That is when P came up with a great idea, SS's bed is now SS's spaceship, and at eight o'clock every night, SS enters her spaceship to embark in an fun filled adventure. SS goes to her bed without complaining, bargaining, or the many other things she can do to manipulate a situation in her favor. It does help that she hears how envious we are of her spaceship, and how unfair it is that they do not make them for Mamas and Babas to share. P is loving it, because SS is out within minutes of hitting the pillow, and he usually crashes by 8:30 p.m. P came up with the idea while watching SS go up the steps to her bed. It reminded him of astronauts on their way to their vessels. 

Yesterday I had SS wear shorts to school. because I did not want the teachers to get the impression that she is a girly girl. We will know the day they make that erroneous assumption, as all heck is going to break lose and the teachers will need a police escort out of their classrooms. SS says that she likes school, and her favorite part of the day is playing in the kindergarten playground. There are four classrooms, and three are located surrounding the K playground. SS's classroom is on the other side of the school, next to the cafeteria. The trek to K land must be exciting for exiled kids. 

On Tuesday, the first thing I noticed when I saw SS in the afternoon was how flushed she was. Going to school in 90-100 degree weather sucks big time. My baby's cheeks were red, and I could tell she was fading.  Yesterday I brought her ice cold water, and boy, was she really appreciative. 

Yesterday we found a worksheet in SS's backpack. No big deal, except that SS's teacher said during orientation that she hands out homework packets on Thursdays. All SS had to do was write her name, trace the words azul and blue, write them, then color a bird blue.  I asked SS if she was supposed to do that at school and she said yes. Yippee, third day of school and she is bringing home unfinished work. I had a flashback to JJ's school days. Why oh why do I end up with easily distracted kids? We sat down SS at her table, no TV, no music, no distractions, and she still managed to dilly dally.  How difficult is it to color? But this is drama queen SS, who after coloring for a whopping five minutes complained of wrist pain and had to stop.  There are many things that I will do for my children, but taking on their school work is not one of them.

Next time I get the crazy thought that I would like another child, I'm not going to think about the cost of living, not going to think about how emotionally available I can be for two young ones at home, nor will I think how much time will I have for each child. Next time that crazy idea enters my fried brain, I'm going to think about homework. If more people did that, you'd have a lot of only child households.  

Water and a hat to help keep SS cool.

SS made a race car out of her table and chair. She had a blast pretending to race alongside Lighting McQueen, and even had Rally Monkey in the backseat. Funny how she can do things like this without incident. But twirling around results in stitches.

After almost an hour of complaining, studying dust particles, having conversations with imaginary creatures, and shaking her tired/injured wrist, SS was finally done. Can't wait for that homework packet.

JJ's gift arrived yesterday afternoon, and it was AWESOME! Thank you JJ.

SS dodged the bespectacled look for one year.

SS had a good first day of school, declared it fun, but was very tight lipped about what exactly she did while there.  Once again her eating is going to be an issue. She did not eat her snack, and only ate the peaches for lunch. I was thankful that she had a good breakfast, but that is not the norm for SS. She is like P, not a breakfast person, and I'm going to have to become creative. We had a quick lunch before SS's vision exam.  SS has a habit of asking what we are doing or where we are going next. It's like she has an acute case of early onset Alzheimer's. As we parked in front of the office, SS asked for the umpteenth time where we were going. P asked her where she thought we were going. Upon noticing the office, SS self assuredly stated "Oh yeah, we are going to the eye dentist!" Our daughter, habitual butcher of the English language, and as big a make up as you go along as her father.

SS does have difficulty seeing from a distance, and like her Mama and big brother has right eye astigmatism (P's is left eye). Her near vision, what she needs now to learn to read, is just fine. We were stunned that we did not have a clue that SS had difficulty with far vision. But as the doctor noted, how often has SS had to rely on only one eye? Since her near vision is good, he does not see the need for glasses at this time. We will return next year, and he will reevaluate then. I'm pleased because the thought of keeping track of SS's glasses simply terrified me. Right now I have three of her sunglasses in my purse, because she is always misplacing them. Also, SS really likes wearing sunglasses, and it would have been hard for her to give up. 

We arrived home in the afternoon to find a beautiful flower arrangement from Grandpa. It even included candles. In the morning, SS received a beautiful email from Abuela wishing her the best on her first day of school. We are going to print it and keep it for SS to read in the future. We also received two cards from Nana and Grand Min, one for my birthday, and one for SS's first day of school. I could not post a picture of SS with her card, because my amazing, brand spanking new laptop would not save the picture P took with his phone. Coincidentally, when I talked to Abuela in the morning, she mentioned that when I send her cell phone pictures she can't save them.
 What's up with that? SS also talked to Nana, and while I did not hear the conversation, SS seemed mighty pleased about whatever she shared. A big day for a big girl.

During dinner I asked SS about something we noticed when we picked her up from school. The backpacks were lined up outside the classroom. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked SS why. SS looked at me like I had asked the dumbest question. She the stated "Because when you are done with lunch you put your lunch bag inside your backpack Mama." I then asked why didn't they just put their backpacks in their cubbies. SS rolled her eyes and said "Mama, it's not preschool, we don't have cubbies." Nothing like being schooled by your five year old once she has entered the big leagues.

P treated us to a slice of The Motherlode, which SS enjoyed a la mode. I have mentioned repeatedly that I'm not a fan of my birthday, much to P's consternation. I thought my first birthday with SS home was incredible, but this year will definitely be my best. Because instead of remembering the sad things that have happened on or about August 13, from now on I will look back on SS's first day of kindergarten. How amazingly cute she looked, how she embraced the experience, how she walked with confidence, no tears, no trepidation.  SS gave me a birthday gift that will remain with me forever. Oh yeah, P's gifts were not too shabby either ;)

SS again had difficulty distinguishing letters from a distance.

Three dimensional vision and color vision OK.

Waiting for the second part of her exam. We do not think the doctor will soon forget SS. She grilled him on every apparatus in the room, and demanded to know what he was going to do before cooperating.

Ready for her second day of kindergarten. Don't let the small size and cute outfit fool you.  SS is as ferocious as the sharks on her backpack and lunch bag.

First day of school.

Time does fly by, because to us, SS is still our baby. After all, we just arrived home from China just the other day. And here it is, SS's first day of kindergarten. I did not shed a single tear, because I got it out of my system last night, after SS went to bed. We were worried about waking her up before she was ready, but SS woke up on her own at 6:40 a.m., and we had a great cuddle in bed. It was so since that today is P's day off, otherwise he would have missed such an important milestone.  SS uncharacteristically ate breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon. I packed goldfish crackers for her snack (and also left a big bag with her teacher), and for lunch I made her a ham and Gouda sandwich in a Hawaiian sweet roll, peaches and green beans. SS also has a thermos full of milk.

SS was not the least bit hesitant when we arrived at school. Our brand new Road Runner (school mascot) could not wait to get going, but her teacher, Mrs. V-P was MIA. The other three K teachers (there are two regular, and two immersion classes) were there, and we began to wonder. Apparently Mrs. V-P is just fashionably late. She lined up the kids, and they entered the school grounds, where they were tagged by the teaching assistant. SS found this process excruciatingly slow, and a few times we thought she was going to lose it. As we watched SS follow her teacher to the classroom we were grateful for her preschool experience. We are not perfect parents, and God knows we have royally botched things along the way. However, the pace and path of transitioning SS turned out to be a wise choice. We were thankful we spent an obscene amount of money on preschool. 

BTW, SS's school does not require uniforms, but apparently my twelve years of wearing uniforms to school are hard to shake. This is the first school outfit I purchased for SS, and although I gave her a choice this morning, she chose this one. My tomboy chip obviously malfunctioned when I went school clothes shopping, because SS ended up with five skirts, two dresses, and only one pair of shorts for school. And yes, they are all like this one, preppy uniforms. What the heck happened to me? Abuela, before you freak out, SS's skirts have shorts underneath, she will keep her modesty while on the playground. 

P is always making fun of my lousy picture taking, and today he learned that payback is a b*tch. I wanted to take pictures in the shade, but my husband scoffed at my lack of photographic knowledge and chose the sun. We are definitely redoing this when SS comes home.

Mrs. V-P (she has a hyphenated last name, like SS).

So Abbey Road.

Officially tagged.

This is how we got pictures and video, they were serious about not allowing unabashedly excited parents inside the gates. 

And off she went to embark in a new adventure.

This post courtesy of my birthday gift.

Helping clean the van.

SS is always ready to lend a hand. I'm so lucky to have such help.

Helping clean the van.

I'm so lucky to have such help.

SS is a true Angels fan, down to her blood type.

Yesterday at 9:00 a.m. I received a call from SS's pediatrician regarding her lab work. SS is healthy, and as a bonus, she does not need an MMR shot. I asked Dr. B what if the school insisted on the shot. He asked that we pick up a copy of the results, present it to the school nurse, and if she had a problem she can call him.  Cool, we like this doctor.  Dr. B then told me what we have waited four years to know, SS's blood type. It turned out to be one of those moments I wish I could do over. The moment I heard A+, I squealed.  Yes, I squealed like a stupid teenager, not only that, but I managed to croak out "Just like me." UGH, how embarrassing. Not only like me, but like JJ and Abuela. Turns out that SS is a true Angels fans, down to her blood type.  Upon hearing the news P crowed, "Good, I can donate blood to all of you." P is O+.  I had an appointment at 10:45, and as we were getting ready, P suggested that once we were done with the appointment and delivered SS's lab work to her school, we could come home and take it easy. We arrived home late Monday night, went to bed past midnight, and were up very early. It sounded like a great plan.

Great plans do have a way of becoming derailed, albeit for good reasons. We were prepared for the hurried first appointment, then wait for referrals whenever. Turns out Doc B (to differentiate from SS's Dr. B) is a spitfire who likes to get things moving quickly. Before getting into the appointment, we wanted to share that my ethnic womb struck again. Doc B was going over my medical history, asked for number of pregnancies (I said one, because it's really irrelevant), then how many resulted in live births.  When I said one, she smiled and rolled her eyes, as in thinking duh, then pointed to SS. Doc B then proceeded to chuckle at her silly mistake. It's a good thing she was so freaking nice and knowledgeable, so we overlooked  that temporary lapse.

Doc B was simply amazing, very throughout, and a good listener. I was glad P was there, because he can rattle in record time every medication I have taken since we met. When we talked about my insomnia, I could tell Doc B was impressed when P gave her a chronology of the medications that I have tried without success. When she noted that I have tried all that's out there I was discouraged. Doc B stated that she did not want to retrace already taken steps, and surprised us by stating she was making a referral to a pulmonologist.  Huh? Apparently there's a pulmonology practice specializing is sleeping disorders, for people like me, "not your garden variety insomniac." Lucky me, I'm untreatable.

Next Doc B checked my left knee, and managed to manipulate it in a position that would cause the most excruciating pain.  That earned me another referral. She then asked me why did I think I had a hernia, so I just showed her. No need to explain, once you see it, you know what it is. That earned me my third referral, to a surgeon.  Since we had been in the examining room for way over an hour, I decided to leave the minor issues, asthma and allergies, for the next appointment. Doc B bid adieu, and we got ready to leave. Her medical assistant came in with my lab orders, X-ray referral (to be followed by an MRI), and the surgeon referral. Wow, that was fast. She apologized for not having the pulmonologist referral, since those are handled by the referral coordinator. I think we are going to be just fine under Doc B's care.

We made a quick stop for SS's lab work copy, then had lunch.  With Dragon Boat weekend, and P not due for a day off until August 6, we decided to forgo going home to chill out. We first stopped for my lab work, where P and SS amused themselves by taking manipulated pictures of each other.  The knee X-ray was next, and we were grateful that SS had entertainment.  We drove to SS's school, but the staff does not return until Monday.  Just when we thought we would go home, take a break then start grilling dinner, we remembered that we promised SS a movie. She had been asking to see Brave for a while, and we said we would go this week. Yesterday was our last opportunity this week, so we came home, spent an hour making phone calls to our insurance, scheduled the surgeon's appointment, then off to the movies. SS enjoyed the movie, and she will be asking for an archery set soon. We didn't get to take it easy, but at least we got quite a bit done.

SS can't get enough of her Rally Monkey.

You've got to be kidding me. She really thinks Mama gave birth to me and I came out Chinese? Way to go Mama and Baba!

This one made SS laugh the most.

At the imaging center. SS can't see a "fountain" and not take a picture.

SS's school, and of course I would not post the entire name.

SS hinting at the next movie she wants to see. So not going to happen.

Finally a D*sney female protagonist that does not make me want to hurl.

Go Angels!

Ever since we arrived from China, P has wanted to take SS to an Angels game. Her first two years home, SS was too young to sit through a game, let alone understand what was going on.  SS was also afraid of loud noises, and that is exactly what one gets in a stadium full of rabid fans. By her third year home SS was into the Angels and would watch the games with P. However, the thought of driving five hours one way, spend the night, just to watch a sport that is as exciting as watching paint dry, or watching grass grow, did not appeal to me. And SS still had issues with noises, depending on the situation. I did not rush into looking for lodging or possible dates to travel to Oakland for a game. P also wanted a cheerleader outfit for SS, and we waited until we returned home to get the right size. By the time we looked for the outfit, we could not find it in red and blue, only pink, yuck, we passed. The picture below was taken in August 2008, Baba and Baby S wearing matching Angels socks, sippy cup for Baby S, and frosty mug for Baba.

One of the first things on P's mind when we moved was to cross that item off his long awaited to do list. We could not find a cheerleader outfit, but P was OK with a nice hat and a T-shirt, as long as he had the opportunity to take his angel to an Angels game.  Last night P finally got his wish, as he cashed in the remaining Father's Day gift.  Both SS and P were giddy with excitement. P educated SS on the importance of the Rally Monkey, something that went right over my head. It turned out to be a very valuable lesson.

Holding her ticket and ready to root for her team.

That is one big hat.

Let's roll...

We arrived early because we wanted to check out the merchandise, especially a Rally Monkey.

Sorry about the many pictures, but this was four years in the making, and we wanted to make sure to get the Angels logo in as many times as possible.

Good job P, an Angels home game beats being in hostile Oakland A's territory. Plus SS was finally very ready to enjoy the game.

Our monkey holding her Rally Monkey.

SS had a blast, because our daughter loves any opportunity to cheer, applaud, scream, jump, shout, and go wild and crazy. She caught on right away when the border screens called for "Make Noise," or clap, clap clap "Let's Go!" She was a tad baffled when the Kansas City pitcher threw the ball to first base to keep the player from straying, and the crowd booed. P only had to explain once, and after that SS right on it  The pitcher got right what he deserved every time he engaged in such an evil deed.

SS became an instant fan of the Rally Monkey, and made as much noise as she could to make him appear.  People around us were surprised at how much noise her tiny body could produce. We did not have a problem letting SS scream, shout and spend as much energy as possible. Anything for the opportunity to have her go gentle into that good night sleep.

I became worried when at the top of the seventh inning the score was tied. I was done by the third inning and was dreading the game going into extra innings. Thankfully our team came through on the eight inning, and scored three runs for a 6-3 Halo win. As much as I'm not a baseball fan, I did have a good time just being there for another SS first. But also because this was something P wanted so much, and for so long. The smile on his face was worth the three and a half hours on that seat. Combined with SS's smiles and sense of wonder, it made for an unforgettable evening.  

Love watching those little fists up in the air. SS was initially baffled by the seven inning stretch since it's been two years since we went to the Outlaws minor league game in Chico. She quickly got the hang of it, and a dancing she went. SS also participated in her very first wave. The look on her face as she saw the wave make its way around the stadium was priceless.  I have never enjoyed a wave so much in my life. While I do enjoy watching in the comfort of my air conditioned home, with a bathroom a few steps away, and free food and drink, I would do it again.

I ended up with a pink logo on my hat, it was on clearance, and I'm cheap. Turns out it matches my T-shirt, so it worked out well. We all ended up with different shirts and hats. Just like the make up of our family.