Our life since adding one Chinese sister....I hope you enjoy the journey with us.
Luci is a Yi Baby from Guizhou Province.
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I think most of us knew ahead of time that my little He Kexin was really 2 years too young to be in the Olympics. Read article from Times Online--UK here. Kexin's still my favorite because I think she and Luci look an awfully lot alike. And to know that someone who is two years too young to be there can get the same scores, well, that's something, isn't it?
I've wondered what Luci would do on those really long days. Would she run wild? Would I be wrestling with her to stay in her quiet place so we can do some school work? Today I got my answer.
Here's what Bryan and JT did when we finally got to the school work.Here's what Luci did. She's sleeping behind me right now. Bryan fixed up a pallet for her, with pillow, blankie, coloring book and her mayonnaise jar full of crayons. She fell asleep right away. I am so glad! This is the little girl who has to be held to go to sleep. Here's our version of He Kexin!
She's wearing one of JT's gold medals won at a gymnastics meet long ago. Luci will tell you her shirt says, "Mei Mei. And that red part is chopsticks." Not quite, but for 3 1/2, that is pretty cute.
I am always looking for a familiar face, someone to match Luci up to. I found a familiar face in the Olympics, on China's team, of course. He Kexin...an incredible gymnast. She looks a lot like Luci. If you follow the gymnastics world news, you might remember a controversy surrounding her--she was proclaimed to be too young to enter the Olympics this year. This source has her birthdate adjusted to 1992, making her legal. I found some more information about her here, including some discussion about the age question.
She was born in Beijing... I was hoping to find another Bouyei Baby. I guess not, but wow! what an exciting young lady.
Here's a slideshow of this young lady and her team on Zimbio. Did you see "my" girl win a gold medal?! :)
Did you know that one of the tests some Olympic athletes must take is to determine their gender? Not really a problem, you say? There have been several in the past who failed! See article here from the UK Guardian.
And what about this gymnast?
That was Paul Hunt. He was a champion in the 1970's. There are several more videos of him on youtube.com. Thank you, Phisch, for letting me know about this tremendously funny and talented athlete!
Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
The following video is of girls in Luci's province of Guizhou, training in gymnastics. It is 5:22 long--sort of long, but I chose it because it is from Guizhou. They train young and awfully long. I feel for the families, being separated the way they are. The families sacrifice to send them and the girls live at or near the center. Bryan and JT were on a gymnastics team (Bryan for three years, JT for one) and it is a very tough sport. The boys worked hard for their team, but nothing like these young girls.
Luci is such a monkey (Year of the Monkey was an appropriate year for her to be born!), that we started her in gymnastics at the YMCA. Not my place of choice for gymnastics, but since we are members, it is in the cost range for me (free if you are a member). Yesterday was her first class. She did fine on her "tricks," but was otherwise so hyper. The Feingold diet is definitely what she needs!
Here she is in her "ballerina dress" which is the only little outfit I found that covers up her tushy area (pee-gu in Mandarin!), was in my price range, and was one piece. She loves twirling around like a ballerina in it, and posing like she is now--what is that, a pli·é? And, doing a back bend. The boys got their hair cut yesterday. It was a rainy day. Luci fell asleep in the van, so I sat in the parking lot and waited for the boys. I had fun watching the sign on the salon door, being warped by the raindrops on the windshield. (I am easily amused. And yes, I take the camera nearly everywhere we go.) Edited to add: We've had 2.39" of rain at our house in the past 24 hours! The tornado in our county developed after that part of the storm passed us; it was very close. Sometimes on Wednesday nights, we stay home and have a devotional here instead of driving the 20 miles to church. Here Bryan is reading the scripture to us (before his haircut, he wants you to know). JT and Luci looking on, so sweet.
Here's what Luci did. She's sleeping behind me right now. Bryan fixed up a pallet for her, with pillow, blankie, coloring book and her mayonnaise jar full of crayons. She fell asleep right away. I am so glad! This is the little girl who has to be held to go to sleep.
Here's our version of He Kexin!
She's wearing one of JT's gold medals won at a gymnastics meet long ago. Luci will tell you her shirt says, "Mei Mei. And that red part is chopsticks." Not quite, but for 3 1/2, that is pretty cute.
And, doing a back bend.
The boys got their hair cut yesterday. It was a rainy day. Luci fell asleep in the van, so I sat in the parking lot and waited for the boys. I had fun watching the sign on the salon door, being warped by the raindrops on the windshield. (I am easily amused. And yes, I take the camera nearly everywhere we go.) Edited to add: We've had 2.39" of rain at our house in the past 24 hours! The tornado in our county developed after that part of the storm passed us; it was very close.
Sometimes on Wednesday nights, we stay home and have a devotional here instead of driving the 20 miles to church. Here Bryan is reading the scripture to us (before his haircut, he wants you to know).
JT and Luci looking on, so sweet.
