Cheerleading

Ready to start.

I got a smile!!

Starting the lift...

the end result!! Very good, girls.

Cheerleading is one of the activities that Lauren does. She wanted to do this after seeing her cousin compete in cheerleading for the past few years. Lauren is in the Tiny division. To compete in the Tiny division you had to be 5 years old or younger as of May 2008. Lauren's team was on the younger side. The teams she competed against were closer to the 5 year old range. Lauren's team had a lot of 3 year olds and even a 2 year old as well as some 4 and 5 year olds.

This past weekend was Lauren's last cheer competition of the season. Lauren's team were in 4 competitions this year. They improved so much during the year. They started out the year not doing that well in the competitions. In the first three competitions they tried hard but always came in last. (Sometimes they were only competing against one other team.) But the last competition they competed against 3 other teams. I was just hoping they didn't come in last again. They came in second and all the team members got a nice ribbon. Lauren was so happy to get the ribbon. To be honest, I don't think they really cared that they would come in last or even realize they came in last.

I asked Lauren if she likes doing the dance in front of the crowd and if she got scared. She says she likes it and that it does not scare her at all. It is so funny to watch her. She almost never smiles during the performance. I told her to smile more and look like she is having fun. This past weekend I got a few smiles but not many. She is just all business.

I am proud of how hard they worked and it seemed like they had fun this past season. They have a show for parents and friends and then they tryout for next season to see what team they will be on. If she moves up then she will be doing 8 competitions. I have mixed feelings on whether or not I want her to move up. That is a lot more competitions and everything gets more expensive. The outfit is more and additional competition fees all add up. I think the coaches are really working with Lauren to have her move up next year. Just tonight she learned how to do a bridge from a standing position. They would like her to have a back walkover but I don't think she will have that for a while. I think she will be fine with what ever team she is on.

Hair Update #2

It is 6 weeks tomorrow that Lauren had her accident. I thought I would update the growth. It is a slow process but it is coming back. It helps me to see these pictures to remind me that it is growing back. There are days when I don't think it is happening but when I look at these I can see we are making slow progress!!

2 and 1/2 weeks after the accident.

The day of the accident.

Lauren is doing much better with the whole thing. There are days when she says she wants her old hair back but I am hearing that less and less. She will now let me do her hair in the bathroom in front of the mirror and she is ok with it. After her baths she does not need a hat on when she brushes her teeth. Again, slow progress but moving in the right direction.

Springtime????

The pictures above were taken before we headed to a birthday party on Sunday afternoon. The pictures below were taken at a birthday party on Saturday.

This past weekend the weather was just wonderful. There is just something about nice spring weather that makes kids want to jump, twirl and dance. I think it is going to cool off again but it was fun to enjoy for a few days.

Chinese New Year

Today we went to the FCC Chinese New Year celebration. This was the first year at a new location and it was great. The old location was nice but this place had a lot more space and lots of grassy areas for the kids to play. It was made even nicer because the weather was perfect, nice and sunny (I even got a little bit of a sun burn.)

They had face painting, which Lauren loves and course was the first thing we had to do. They also had a balloon artist. He is the best balloon artist I have ever seen. They have him every year and he is amazing. He can make anything, from dogs and cats to a mermaid and Cinderalla. It is pretty wild to watch him work.

They had a large area for arts and crafts. They had a bunch of project and then just some coloring pages for the kids to do.

They had a ton of games including a cake walk. I am happy to report Lauren won one round. They also had bean bag toss and ring throw and many other fun games.

They had a ton of balls, hula hoops, Chinese yo yos, sand toys, and etc. They also had a rock climbing wall and a few jumpy houses.

Of course they had great food. There is a Chinese food place here that has catered the event for the past few years. It is Lauren and my favorite Chinese eatery. The owners have a daughter that was also adopted from China and they have the best food. They always provide a nice spread.

In addition to all the fun things that FCC brought the place is a park and had a huge sand area that the kids loved. Lauren loves to play in the sand so she was in heaven and spent a long time just playing in the sand.

There was a few really neat things they did this year. They always have dancers and other entertainment but this year they ended the day by having all the kids go up on stage by province.

They had all of the kids come on the stage when they called their place of birth. It was kinda of a parade of provinces. They then had the Dragon dance to end the day.

The other neat thing they did was give each child a lucky red envelope. Inside was ticket they got to take to the Lucky Ticket store and get a small gift. I thought that was such a great idea.

I was so impressed with all they did. It was so well planned and so thought out. It was the best one we have ever been to and Lauren is already looking forward to next year.

Happy Valentine's Day

Looking at all she got in her Valentine basket.

Already for Lauren

Ready for school party.

Preparing Valentines for her friends.

I admit I am a total sucker for any holiday. Now that I have Lauren it just gives me a reason to have fun and celebrate every holiday. Although I will admit that Valentine's Day is probably the biggest Hallmark holiday, I still think it is fun. I love the little cards and all the hearts and the pink and red it is just so much fun. It brings back fun memories of when I was little.

We have been doing Valentine projects for the past couple of weeks. This included making Valentine cupcakes, cards to classmates, a Valentine box and other little things.

This year I decided to do a count down to Valentine's Day. Everyday this week I would put a card and little present in her Valentine mailbox. It was actually the mailbox that gave me the idea. We got this mailbox kit one day and Lauren had so much fun decorating it and then writing little cards and letters and putting them in the mailbox. I thought she might enjoy getting a letter and surprise each day. It was fun to see how excited she got over a card and dollar gift.

Valentine's Day started with Lauren getting her Valentine basket. She was so happy to get a stuffed animal. She must have over 50 but it is what she loves the most. I know that if I get her a stuffed animal she will be so happy. She carried her new ape everywhere we went. Later that day we went to my brother's house and had dinner with them.

The evening ended with chocolate and strawberries. A few years ago Lauren was really into Dora. One of the books we had was Dora's Valentine Day. In that story, Dora and Boots have strawberries and chocolate and Lauren has wanted to do that since reading that story. This year I got the stuff and Lauren and her cousin had a great time dipping the strawberries into the chocolate. They both looked so cute with chocolate all over their face. It was a great Valentine's Day and I was so lucky to get to spend it with my sweetie.

On Valentine's day I had her Valentine's basket waiting for her in the morning. I told you that I love to celebrate. Holiday's also give me the chance to dress up my little girl in fun holiday clothes. I know that she will be over that in a few years so I am taking advantage of it while I can. Lauren is a good sport and will wear what I put out.

Update on Jacob

Lauren and I went to my brother's home last weekend. It was the first time I have seen Jacob since he was in the hospital a few weeks ago. At that time he didn't look too good. His color was bad and he was having a hard time breathing.

I am totally amazed at how good he looks. His color is so good. His cry is stronger and he just looks so much better. He has had two treatments so far and although they take a long time I think they are helping him. He is still not gaining enough weight and they are thinking of putting a feeding tube in him. Gain some weight little boy!!

For now I am just amazed at how good he looks. I am so happy for him and his mom, dad and sister. I know this has been a stressful time for them.

Lauren's First Softball Game

Today was Lauren's first softball game. I have been looking forward to her playing softball. for a long time. I played softball when I was young and really enjoyed it. I hope Lauren grows to like it also. (I am not sure she is that thrilled with it now!)

Lauren is in the youngest age group. The "games" are are coach pitch for the first 5 pitches and if they don't hit the ball then they hit off a tee. All the girls bat each inning. The fielders try to get outs but it does not matter if they get everyone out or no one because all bat. Also, if they do get someone out the person stays on the base to get use to running the bases. This age group is to really just teach the fundamentals of the game. It is not about winning. As the season goes on they learn more and more. Right now the focus is on hitting, running the bases, fielding and throwing. They are just starting to learn where to throw the ball.

Lauren hit the ball pretty good. She hit each time from a coach pitch. Her fielding was ok. I think she got a bit bored (see picture above) at times. But most of the times she paid attention.

The girls have to wear a ton of safety items. They have to wear the full batting helmet. The helmets come in one size and as you can see even on Lauren's big head it looks big. They also have to wear a mouth guard. That is the pink thing you see in her mouth. It can't be comfortable to wear but it is a rule. Lauren played with hers the whole time she was in the field.

I can't believe how grown up my little girl looks in her uniform. She is getting so big. She tried hard and I was proud to be her mom.