Da TuTu Dolly Dance

When we arrived home from China in August 2009, our friends Sandi and Bruce picked us up at the airport. When he first saw Maryn, Bruce tapped on the sides of his head with his hands, and Maryn declared, "Da tou tou," (usually pronounced like dah toe toe) meaning hit head in Chinese. In a combination of dialect and child speak, Bruce has been known since then as Da TuTu. Today we celebrated with Sandi and Da TuTu the marriage of their daughter Sara and her husband, Matt. Leading up to the event, we have been talking a lot about traveling to Da TuTu's daughter's wedding and what happens at a wedding. What Maryn has been hearing in all those conversations is Da TuTu dolly dance. The day finally arrived, and it was a beautiful celebration of a special couple's love for each other, their family and their friends. We had a wonderful time, Maryn was as good as gold, and we danced. Put a check next to "attend a wedding" on the list of family firsts.

The Sounds of Childhood

I picked Maryn up from school on Friday, and as the car door closed I heard, "Bubba gum, bubba gum dee wah dees, how many dees do you won?" Finally, she learned something at school that will stick with her for the rest of her life! She and I played many rounds of bubba gum throughout the weekend, and somehow I always seemed to be the one who was out, but, then, when you're playing while driving, it's not easy to see exactly where the finger is pointing when the chant ends. On Saturday evening Tom and I broadened her repetoire with Eenie Meenie, Johnny Lit the Match, One Potato Two Potato and Engine Engine Number Nine. She wasn't always the winner when we could keep our eyes on the game, but she handled it with a smile.

Friday night Maryn went to her first slumber party. Leading up to the event we discussed how we would miss each other, and it was nice to hear her say, "I know," when we told her we would miss her, but she always followed that by saying, "You miss me, I miss you." I made sure to give her a long hug and a few kisses before we left the house because I knew there would be no looking back when she hit the inside of the house for the party. She was no different than the rest of the kids as they were dropped off, and it was great to see. Tom and I lived it up by going to dinner at a restaurant where we talked loudly to hear each other then came home and fell asleep on the couch. You can really live it up when there is no one to tell "it's time to brush your teeth" or "flush the toilet" and "wash your hands" and then make sure it's done in that order.

Saturday morning was the annual pancake breakfast, Tom's big fundraising effort for the year, and this year he sold one more VIP ticket for the event as you can see by the smiling flower face. He works hard during the coldest time of the year selling tickets door to door, at church, and everywhere else in town. It makes you smile to see how many people turn out for the event and know how hard he and the rest of the volunteers work to make it a successful event. That golden sausage and pancake plaque looks pretty good in his closet, and it seems that he might be able to dust it off and have his name added one more time as the event's top ticket seller. Way to go, Tom!

I'm sorry to say that Saturday was also Maryn's last basketball game of the season. That was some great entertainment that we are going to miss. She may have inbounded every ball to the other team, provided the best defensive offense the game has ever seen, and spent more time fussing with her hair then actually getting close to the ball, but we'll miss seeing her running from one end of the court to the other in her shiney red shoes and long black shorts. She went from knowing absolutely nothing about basketball to knowing not much about basketball, but she was part of a team and she smiled at us from the floor and that's what counts. Her coaches were wonderful, and she would be lucky if she could learn from them again sometime. Sure hope to be able to convince her to give it another try next winter, but for now we'll move on to the joy of knowing absolutely nothing about soccer.

Why and The Y

There's a new word in the new English language, and it's "why?" Why? surfaced a few days ago, and it's making a regular appearance. I have officially crossed into an area in which I swore I would never cross as I find the words "because I said so" coming out of my mouth. We all know it's a lot easier than providing an answer that's only going to be followed by another "why?" and sometimes it's the only real good reason. Fortunately for me it's frequently followed by a cheerful, little "okay," but we'll see how long that lasts.

Swimming is Maryn's favorite pastime, and we try to get to the pool as often as we can. Swimming lessons will be on the schedule for as long as she's interested, and right now there's no end to that in sight. I'd love to be able to watch Maryn do the backstroke in competition someday so we need to work on that flutter kick. At this stage of the game it looks a little like she's pedaling a bike, but we've got time to get that corrected. As long as she loves it, we'll keep it going, and I'll continue to enjoy watching her point at me and then point at her eyes to signal me to watch. She has no idea that she doesn't need to tell me to watch because I don't want to miss a minute with our little fish.

My Funny Valentines

Xin Nian Kuai Le

We enjoyed our first new year celebration as a family. It began with us hosting the coffee fellowship at church. Tiger cookies, sugar cookies piped with characters, almond cookies, Chinese lanterns, tangerines and qi paos turned the event into a party. Maryn handed out red envelopes to the kids and some of them were wide eyed as they received their gift. We managed to share some of the traditions with those in attendance, and while admittedly it was a westernized take on an ancient celebration, everyone seemed to enjoy it. After that we went to a local restaurant with friends and enjoyed a little of this and that from everyone's plates. It was a fun way to spend a family day together.

Future Three Chucker

Tonight was Maryn's first basketball practice. The other day the coach called and told us when and where it would be held and that's when we found out Maryn would be the only girl on the team. We didn't want to emphasize that so we didn't say anything about it, but we went to the practice wondering whether she'd notice and how she'd feel about it if she did. She didn't, and she had a great time. The two coaches were good about helping her without singling her out, and the boys were in their own worlds so none of them noticed her either. When they held the skills test two weeks ago, we found out she doesn't have any just like anyone else playing for the first time. Tonight she followed the drills like the other kids did, and the coaches showed her how to shoot the ball. Maryn is eager to learn how to do new things so she follows when someone is showing her something. After many failed attempts at the basket and just as many quiet groans and aughs from her watching parents, Maryn made a basket. We're not sure who else joined in with us, but we weren't the only ones who cheered when the ball fell through the net, so there must of been a few other parents there wanting her to feel the thrill. Tom is quite a mushball, and at one point during the practice I asked him if he was enjoying it and told him I was surprised he wasn't bawling yet. Then came the first basket, and when I said, "How about now?" he looked at me with a wide smile and tears in his eyes. I said, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

When the practice ended, Maryn got high fives from the coaches just like the rest of the team, and we couldn't ask for more than that. Looks like we'll be going back next week.

Snowhenge

Maryn has been enjoying winter. "Mommy, I like-a snow," she says. She wants snow pants, boots, scarf and mittens packed for school so she can play outside during recess, and when she gets home from school she wants to get out in it again. We're lucky that we can step outside our back door and take a short walk to a great sledding hill. The neighborhood kids have really been working it over, and I've had several rides on the saucer myself.

We finally had just the right snow for snowmen, and Maryn and one of the girls next door went to work in our backyard. When they were finished, we had three snowmen and seven large balls of snow uniquely positioned here and there around the yard. It now looks like an unsolved mystery of strange formations out there, probably showing up on satellite images. Don't be alarmed, they'll be gone by spring, if not sooner.