Team Dynamo won their first game.

I'm not sure what happened Saturday on that field, and it may have been the result of one, or a combination of things. Maybe Team Red Bull sucked big time, maybe Team Dynamo members all had their Wheaties that morning (although SS had chocolate milk with whipped cream); maybe Dynamo kids found their footing coordination and passion. Then perhaps, it was just time for a fluke to occur, but what a happy fluke it turned out to be. We are always honest about our children's short comings, and go as far as to joke about their lack of athletic prowess.  The same goes for SS's team mates, there are a few decent players, but for the most, they suck. This made Saturday all the more remarkable, those kids rocked that field. The score was 2-0, but I was astounded at the almost dozen times Dynamo came close to score. They usually have a hard time just getting the ball to the opposing team's side.

I had not way of predicting what a great time SS would have.  Coach K had her kick off the game, and to my amazement, about barely two minutes in, SS elbowed a much larger boy to get to the ball. WTH? I could not believe my eyes, since SS is usually very timid about physical contact, since she is always on the losing end.  The coach's wife, A exclaimed, OMG, she ELBOWED him, wow. No kidding. From there SS slipped into her own little world, as usual. There were super hero poses to be made, dust particles to chase, and a sudden fear that her pants would fall down to her ankles. The ball? What ball are you talking about? At a point I told SS to pay attention. Coach K's mother turned to me and said "I'm the coach's mother, and he was the same exact way at her age. He would leave the field to chase butterflies. A total space cadet." Yikes, I must have come across as a real b*tch. But true, they are 4-6 years old, and behave accordingly.

But all of a sudden, the kids found their groove, even SS hustled after the ball in a way I have never seen her do before.  The kids began encouraging each other on the field and off (when benched for a rest). Just near the end something beautiful happened. SS came out of nowhere, stole the ball, and kicked it into the opposing team's side.I was holding my phone, but was so blown away that it did not occur to me to press record.  I was on my feet shouting GO SS GO!, as was Coach K (dude went ape sh*t crazy running after SS).  A and I noticed that Team Red Bull parents were also cheering SS on. There's something about a tiny, hopelessly uncoordinated girl that transcends petty rivalries.  It took everything I had not to cry and make a fool out of myself. I was so proud of SS, so  thankful that we were given the opportunity to parent her and have moments like this.

We were then treated to the best way to end a game. N is a very chubby boy, so much that walking is difficult for him, let alone running.  His parents are obviously doing what they can to help with his weight, and the boy does try. N got himself in the mix, stole the ball, and ran his buns off, and that led to the second goal. WOW, we were all on our feet, and his mother was screaming like a banshee (the same as me a few minutes earlier)> But the most precious part was N's reaction, as Coach K came to high five him, N stood frozen, mouth opened, looking at the goal area. He could not believe he scored. As Coach K tried to get his attention for the high five, N put his hand up, never taking his eyes from the goal area. It was priceless. Best game I have ever attended in my life.

SS was on cloud nine, getting high fives all around, and very proud of herself. I don't care if her feet never touch the ball for the remaining games.  I don't care if she chooses to slip into super hero mode, decides to chase butterflies, or helps the opposing team score against her own. Our little girl had her moment, the ones she was not supposed to have. My only regret is that P was not there to watch his baby hustle. He is going to be at next week's game, and I'm sure he will be proud just the same.

Casual Friday

That was quite a break from posting, but this is the most wonderful time of the year, and we have been distracted with appointments, concerns about SS being ignored at school (more on that later), and the fact that JJ's long awaited visit is not going to happen. P is devastated because Halloween Haunt is a family affair, and he took a week off to enjoy JJ's visit, and for us to reconnect as a family. Our biggest concern now is how to deal with SS, because we opened our big mouths and now she is broken hearted. She really misses her brother, and unlike us, she does not have the capacity to understand the many whys.

We began making medical appointments in July, and are now finally getting closer to perhaps easing some of our issues.  Both P and I had sleep studies and have to return for a second study, using the dreaded (for me) CPAP. I just can't stand anything on my face, even if it is two small tubes providing much needed oxygen. P is game and as long as he can rest, he could not care less about being hooked up to a machine.  Then again, he has not spent as much time as I have hooked up to monitors, machines, and IVs.

My hernia surgery is scheduled for October 30, and I am relieved, nervous, and excited, depending on what's on my mind. During my last appointment with the general surgeon I realized that our appointment palooza took quite a toll on SS's emotional health and security. Had I not made that appointment without P, we would not have realized the extent of her inner turmoil.  There are advantages this time around that I did not have during the previous two surgeries. We will have support that was not available in Northern California, and for that we are grateful. Our main concern is SS's well being, to protect her as much as possible, while not giving in to the appeal of completely insulating her from reality.

But enough about doom and gloom, since it's indeed the most wonderful time of the year, Halloween.  It's going to be our return to Halloween Haunt since 2007. We attended the first year at Great America in 2009, but it was not the same. But even more exciting than our return to paying for the privilege of being scared by monsters, is an SS first. Something we have waited for so long, SS's first visit to Camp Spooky, and it's going to happen in a few hours. We were up at 4 a.m., and no way could we go back to sleep. There are batteries to charge, SD cards to erase, a cooler to load.  We are even dusting our video camera, not used since China, to document this very important milestone. SS has two costumes to choose from, and it looks like she made up her mind last week.  P would rather she wear the other costume, but this is about SS. We are going to take more pictures and video than most people take of their first child's birth. Looking forward to SS's reaction to seeing Count Snoopula.

The good thing about wearing boring uniforms to school is the fun of casual Friday. Even better it's casual Friday in October.  Our skulls and bones loving girl is certainly having fun, and don't tell, but so are her parents. 

First skulls themed outfit, although later SS complained that "It's too pink Mama, and I DON'T like pink."

With her two buddies, K and C, who gave SS a Sea World's Halloween Spooktacular eye patch. Those three are such a riot together.

SS totally loved her skeleton tights, and would have worn just that to school if allowed. She obviously does not fear a visit from the nice county social worker, but we certainly do.

Ready to roll, and all smiles for her daily picture to send Baba. Funny how versatile her sneakers have turned out to be. I almost returned them, because I thought they were too loud. But darn, they have come in so handy, as this outfit clearly shows.

Looks like this is going to be SS's pumpkin patch outfit. 

Books and a movie.

Yesterday SS's books arrived, and P ended up chuckling all the way home about his cleverness.  SS's teacher seems a bit resistant to using the Internet. The school's web page has spaces for the teachers to add announcements, and to keep a blog.  SS's teacher is not one of those participating. A few weeks ago SS came home with the Scholastic catalog, and we decided to purchase some bilingual books for SS. Just easy peachy stuff to get her started. The form provided an option to purchase Online, sweet. We still have our old checks, with our northern California address, and we pay all of our bills Online, so no rush in getting another set. Also, the teachers do not take paperwork from the kids of any kind, the children are responsible (weird to use that word with five yea old kids) for handing over things inside the classroom. Trusting SS with a check inside an envelope is asking for trouble, so we clearly prefer electronic payments.

As I looked for SS's school Online, I realized that SS's teacher was not signed up for Online purchases. Bleh. P told me to just order the books under the other immersion teacher's account, no biggie, they all already know SS's name, the books will get to us. Except, I reminded P, that the classrooms get points and free books depending on how much the parents order. As usual, P's passive aggressiveness was way ahead of my up front, meek brain. He was sure that once Mrs. V-P saw SS's order, she would reconsider Online ordering.

Yesterday morning Mrs. V-P called my attention and asked if I ordered books for SS. Yes, I did (P was already smirking). Mrs. V-P said that they ended up in Mrs. R's classroom, pretty much playing dumb. I explained that I chose to purchase Online, as it was easier for us. Mrs. V-P informed me that the company was going to change her account to allow Online purchases "because our classrooms gets free books when you purchase." Well no sh*t Sherlock. And for the record, Scholastic does not determine what type of accounts each teacher gets, it's simply free choice. It's simply the willingness to take a few extra minutes to accommodate others. P was very satisfied at stirring the pot. My husband, aka Agent Passive Aggressive. 

The coolest book we got for Sula is Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos. We can't wait for SS's class to cover this holiday.

We took caution to the wind and last night, on a school night (actually 5:25 p.m.) we took SS to see Hotel Transylvania in 3D. P was sure she would like it, I no longer know what is going to scare SS moment to moment.  SS had a blast, and we enjoyed it as well. 

We have pretty blue pots.

Grandpa called to inform us that we were about to receive a belated (for me) and early (for P) birthday present.  P was hoping for a surround system (sorry Baby, maybe Santa will), I had no thoughts, only knew that Grandpa usually sends good gifts. Yesterday our big box from Macy's arrived, and inside we found three cast iron dutch ovens. Darn, I really ended up winning big time with this gift. Even better, they are blue, we have pretty blue pots.  It so happened that we had a roast we wanted to make this week, and P wasted not time going shopping after dropping SS off at school. We had a delicious dinner and plenty of leftovers for tomorrow's dinner, good because it is karate night, and SS should be very hungry after class.  P has quite a few recipes he wants to try using our new cookware.  Next on his list is arroz con pollo. Hopefully it will be as delicious.  Thank you Grandpa.

Soaking in Palm Srpings.

We wanted to get in one more visit to a water park, and what better place than Palm Springs, where there's a Soak City, and we could use our season passes. P and I had last visited the park (separately) when it was Oasis, and were curious about the changes we would find. We arrived at around noon, and it was already 100 degrees, with a predicted high of 109. As we departed four hours later, it was only 106 degrees. That meant that SS did not need her rash guard, let alone either wetsuit. It was the perfect way to bid adieu to summer. Technically it is fall, but come on, with such beautiful weather it was still summer to us.

I was looking forward to SS's first look at the windmills, I knew she would be impressed, but was not prepared to the extent. She was in awe of their size and numbers, and just kept gasping and exclaiming "they are GINORMOUS, and the biggest ever!" That moment alone made the entire drive worthwhile.  

I had read Online that they had a Gremmie Lagoon, and I was confused upon entering why I could not find it. Easy, instead of a yellow submarine with a giant octopus on top, this Gremmie Lagoon consisted of all of two slides. SS tried each slide and would have remained there much longer, but P and I were scorching and needed some water relief. 

Happy girl in the lazy river.

Ah the life, lounging on Baba or Mama. I recall a time when it was just us on a double inner tube. Grateful for that us time, but it just wasn't as much fun. SS is such a water kid, ever since that first dip in the very cold pool at the Bank Hotel in Kunming, just days after we met. I was too big a coward to brave the cold water, but my baby happily splashed with P, and had her first swimming lesson.

The wave pool was lots of fun, and we indulged SS by playing shark. Simply us chasing her. P is Baba shark and I am Mama shark. SS has such an effervescent, contagious laughter, that just makes you enjoy the simplest things. 

I told SS that up until her arrival, I only entered a wave pool with P, and would hang on for dear life.
Yep, definitely, those days are long gone.

Our last lazy river stint this year. Bye summer, can't wait for next year. This is the first water park season where P and I have not tried a single big person slide. It's been kiddie stuff each and every visit.

On the way to the park we drove by the Palm Springs Air Museum, and SS squealed with delight. Although tired and ready to head home, there is no way SS would let us just drive by. We allowed her to get her jet fix, because even though our daughter moonlights as a super hero, she understands the wisdom of saving her energy, and using the metal birds to get around.

SS seriously informed us that this is The Avengers jet, a super hero pose a must.

SS has been reminding us since we arrived home that she is not tired.  Too bad, because as soon as I publish this post SS is having a quick bath, then it is off to bed. Tonight is The Amazing Race premiere, and P and I are watching, in bed, just the two of us.

Team Dynamo

What happens when you have six kids, ages four to six, most have never played soccer, and had only one practice two days before? You get complete, absolute, laugh your butt off chaos.  SS participated in her first soccer game today. Games are on Saturdays, and that means that P won't be able to attend. I was glad that SS woke up before P left for work, a rarity. P got her out of bed, brought her to our room, and we had ten minutes of cuddle time. SS had her first practice last Thursday, and I was not sure that she would want to play after the first game. As usual she is the smallest, and terribly uncoordinated. Halfway through practice I noticed that SS was beyond frustrated about her inability to get to the ball. We talked to her about the importance of tenacity, that as long as she tried, we could not care less if her foot ever hit the ball, we just want her to keep trying. During the drive to the park I told SS that her small size was an advantage. She looked at me skeptically and asked why. I told her that her size allows for greater speed, and that she can sneak into positions the larger kids can't. I then crossed my fingers I prayed that it would help.

When we arrived at the field, Coach K's wife (and team mom) said "You must be SS. My husband made me set aside a small shirt, and told me not to give it to anyone but SS. He said she was tiny." Yep, been there, done that, hear that all the time. Still, it was very thoughtful of him to make sure SS did not end up with a medium shirt that would drag mid lower leg.

Only six kids showed up, and that meant that every child played for the 40-45 minutes, under Southern California sun. I was surprised that SS did not walk off the field. I was nervous when Coach K chose SS to kick off the game. I was thinking, dude, weren't you at practice barely two days ago? I was nervous for SS, and even more nervous about my daughter being stampeded by much larger kids. I am glad that SS is with Coach K. He really seems to be the type that is coaching because he enjoys the chaos that kids bring. And although his son is the best player on the team, he praises every effort every child makes. The opposing team had hard core coaches, and even more hard core, wanna be athlete parents. Don't recall when was the last time I witnessed so many wanna be athletes in one place.

SS managed to connect a few times with the ball, albeit briefly. The majority of the time she was aimlessly running around, making Super Hero faces and poses, and all around a space cadet. I was a tad embarrassed at her lack focus. Then Coach K came up to me and said, "I am so enjoying SS. Every time she chases after the ball she laughs. It's so cute, she's just precious." HUH? You talking about my kid?  That made me appreciate him even more. Then again, the man has two sons.

Team Dynamo lost 3-0, but what really mattered was how SS felt. I don't think she had a clue that they lost. She was very excited about playing her first soccer game, and asked me if I took "many and many and many" pictures and videos for her Baba. She's very proud of herself, as she should be. Because between all the worries about SS's safety, and among the laughter about watching twelve kids stumbling and bungling things, I had a few moments to contemplate how blessed we are.  Given SS's origins, her state when we met, it was such an amazing thrill to watch her running around and just trying. Given what I know, it's just unbelievable that she was simply there, and more unbelievable that she kept up. But in the same way that JJ did not know about his heart murmur until he was old enough to process the information, we won't be bringing SS down with that information for now. We are just going to enjoy each and every thing she was not supposed to be able to do.

Pre-game practice.

And she kicks off the first game.

SS loves sport drinks, and Gat0rade happens to be her favorite.

SS's idea of guarding the goal area.  In her defense, she thought was that if the ball came really low, she would be in a good position to intercept.

Do you see SS way back there? She stopped to look at I have no idea what on her elbow.

Super Hero pose.

Her Super Hero running stance.

Kiai!

SS had her first karate class today, and much to her delight K's parents also signed him up.  K is having a difficult time in the classroom, academically he is on track, but he did not attend preschool. He is really struggling with the basics of seating down, remaining quiet, waiting his turn, and refraining from karate chopping his classmates. His parents are hoping that martial arts will help him with discipline, and all those other pesky social niceties. P and I are equally focused on discipline, but outside the classroom. One thing sixteen months in a SWI surely breeds is compliance in large groups. Home is another matter, the girl needs to chill out, before she gets another set of stitches.  We are pleased that the Sensei focuses on the self defense aspect (they will be disciplined if they go around karate chopping, or kicking people for fun), something that SS desperately needs.  Being so small, other kids end up hurting her, even if unintentionally. We don't want her to go around whopping a$$, but want her to send a clear, and painful message when someone hurts her.  Last but not least, we want SS to be aware of stranger danger, something we have not been successful getting through to her.

Both SS and K were on hyper mode waiting for the class to start. They are two peas in a pod, and we might have to separate them starting next class. As much as we enjoy the fact that they are such good buddies, the idea of class is to pay attention and learn.  SS was, as usual, less coordinated than her peers. But we admire the fact that she tries, and as long as she keeps trying, we know she will eventually improve. We did not buy her a uniform today, because we wanted to make sure that she really wanted to return. Since she drove us nuts talking about class, practicing, and shouting kiai until bedtime, we are getting her the uniform next week. 

C, SS and K. Baby S was in her stroller chilling.

Moon Festival Banquet

A few weeks ago we received an e-mail from a Blazing Paddles member about the Families
with Children from China (FCC) Moon Festival banquet.  We have never celebrated the Moon Festival, but in our household the more holidays the better. We purchased tickets and eagerly waited to attend. We did not know if we were going to see many of our BP mates, since a lot of them used to belong to FCC, but there was a fall out. Six BP families made it, including us.  The funny thing is that SS saw those faces for several weeks, but only recognized the teens, J and G, without their workout clothes.  There were plans for a party in October to celebrate the paddling season, but it has been cancelled due to lack of interest. So it was good that we attended and got to see a few familiar faces.

Upon arrival we were asked to play a dice game, and I usually keep away from games. But thinking of increasing SS's odds of winning something, I gave it a try. Having Sula blow on the dice was wise, because I rolled four fours. The lady that organizes the banquet said she's never seen someone roll four fours.  SS ended up taking home the grand prize, a big stuffed monkey.

A asked SS her age, and SS answered "cinco años." A then said "Yo tengo nueve años."  Turned out that A (fourth grade) and her brother J (second) are enrolled in a Spanish immersion program. Both kids enjoy learning a new language, and are proud to be part of the program. Their school starts 90-10 on K and first grade, like SS's school.  It was neat to get a glimpse of SS's future.

SS had a blast, she danced, she sang, she played, and felt like a big girl, since the other kids at our table were older than her.  Our girl had been fighting a cold, and we made sure to medicate her before dinner. It did not slow her down one bit, and she fussed big time when it was time to go home.

SS was thrilled to see J & G again. The only people from the group she recognized out of their practice attire.

The kids at our table (from left), J (7), M (10), A (9), and SS.

Men and their toys.

The rest of our table.

Yummy moon pie.

After dinner it was time to get down and show her mad dancing skills.

Among the madness, the otherwise very well behaved children at our table engaged in a rowdy game of tag. It was so rowdy that people would stop to look at them, among all the crazy that was going on.

 

M repeatedly beat J at arm wrestling.

The girls ganged up on poor J and made him the center of their giggly circle.

Waiting for the entertainment to begin.

I could not believe that I won! SS had no problem helping me collect the prize.

Every child received a present, and SS received panda candy. This led me to stick next to her the remainder of the night.

When the young lady finished her drum performance, she asked if any kids wanted to come up and learn to play the drum. We thought SS was going to be on her feet and at the head of the line. When she did not move I asked if she wanted to play the drum. A very sober SS said no... HUH? Her three older table mates did not go, and SS was emulating them.

How did we get a picture of the cutest dragon ever? J was first in line to be the dragon head. Guess that made it OK for SS. Dear child of ours, please keep beating to the sound of your own drum. It has served you well so far, and it won't let you down. 

SS was upset because it was time to go home. She really had a good time reconnecting with her Dragon Boat crew.

The best shot we could get of the group.