Hispanic heritage

I noticed on Grace's school calendar that September 15 began Hispanic Heritage Month so I asked her teacher if she had anything planned to do with the kids. Knowing Grace was born in Guatemala, she replied, "Do you have any ideas?" so I suggested that I could bring in the few things I brought back from Guatemala - a doll, a toy clown (her first Gotcha Day present from Nana), and a couple of books. I also agreed to bring a snack - just a simple chocolate eclair from a recipe I found on the internet. The kids are two, so whatever they did was fine. I told the teacher that Grace would be learning along with the others. Miss Diana and Miss Jessie outdid themselves, though! When I picked Grace up from school I was thrilled to see that they took a bunch of photos of the teachers sharing the books, Grace showing off her doll, and the kids eating the dessert. The teachers also color-copied the cover and some pages from one of the books about weaving and the kids did their own version of "weaving" with colored strips of paper. Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE this school?

Grace's weaving is the one on the bottom left corner.

Grace and some friends showing off their artwork.

(That little boy is wearing a doll's dress as a hat!)

Grace wore this Guatemalan jumper to school today. It is made from the same heavy woven fabric that the workers use in the fields. I commented to the person selling it that the threads made a white line down the side that seemed imperfect, like it was a mistake. And he replied (all in Spanish, by the way) that since it is fabric used for everyday work, things like that didn't matter. As long as it was durable, it was acceptable. I remember when I bought the dress that I thought Grace would be in kindergarten before she was big enough to to fit into it. But just look at my big girl!I haven't begun to talk to Grace about her birth country and adoption. I suppose, though, that when I do and she wants to learn about Guatemala I will start with simple things like the flag, the colorful textiles that stand out in my mind as being so integral to the Guatemalan culture, and maybe, the "Queztal".The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala. It is illegal to have it in captivity and actually virtually impossible since it would die if not free. According to the legend, the Quetzal used to be all green. It proudly gave its long green feathers to adorn the head pieces of the Mayan rulers and warriors. When the Spanish came they took the land from the Mayans by force and deceit. The Mayans, although brave and strong, could not withstand the the men on horses with guns. Tecún Umán, known as the strongest Mayan warrior, was the last one to fall. When Tecún Umán was lying dead on the ground the Quetzal came down and rested on his body and its chest got tinted forever with his blood.

And since yesterday happened to be Guatemala's Independence Day, I thought I would share this photo from AntiguaDailyPhoto.com of the independence torch (middle of the photo).Other torches were lit from this central one and then carried in marathons throughout the country. Representatives from every city, town, and neighborhood ran the relay so that the "fire of independence" was brought to all corners of Guatemala in time for the celebration on September 15th.

There are hundreds of photos on the internet of the different independence day festivals, concerts, parades, and fireworks displays, but I kept coming back to this one photo.I can't help but see my Grace in the face of the little girl on the left.

A walk in the park

We are lucky to live a few minutes away from a national park. It was a beautiful, sunny morning so we took the opportunity to go for a walk in the park. Daisy loved being off the leash but Grace wasn't as excited about walking as we had hoped. She spent a lot of the the time riding on Kyle's shoulders!This section of the park has an amazing rocky cliff where where you can see for miles into the valley. Grace is too young to appreciate the view but she loved walking on the rocks!Grace also discovered moss. It felt cool, spongy, and squishy when we touched it.Have you noticed that no one looks at me when I am taking pictures?

It's un-American

I have to admit football is probably my least favorite sport. I just don't get all the hype. To me, it seems like a lot of standing around and waiting for a minute or two of action. Then more standing around and waiting. I am sure it is just because I am not a man and I have never played the game. I know there is a lot of strategy and planning plays involved. But, to sit there and watch a game - uhhh. I really prefer sports that are more active with fewer time-outs like hockey, soccer, and even basketball. But so many people really get into football that you can't help but caught up in the energy of people who are passionate about their sport or their favorite team.

To me, Friday night high school football has always been a somewhat unique thing about living in Ohio. I just don't remember that from my own high school days in New York. I remember going to games (heck, I dated a few football players!) but it wasn't anything like what goes on here. That could have been due to living in my own little world of Catholic school. All my friends went to smaller, private Catholic high schools so maybe the "football frezy" really was happening at the big, public high schools and I just missed it. Who knows?
But we live here now, and we need to support our local teams, so we took Grace to the high school game last night. Although she was tired from a week of getting up at 6:00AM, Grace loved the lights, the noise, the band, and all the action. There were so many people to watch!The home team was playing a pretty well-known area football powerhouse whose mascot is a tiger. They even came equipped with an 18-week old tiger in a cage! Grace kept pointing to where it was in front of the visitor stands saying "Baby tiger".The soccer team was selling inflatable cushions as a fundraiser for their new stadium. Grace had a great time standing on the table, stacking the cushions, and attracting customers who asked if she was for sale!We spent a lot of time watching and entertaining her and little time paying attention to the game.And, Grace found a comfortable seat on Kyle's shoulders!

Take me home now, Mom. I'm sleepy!

Feed a Stampede

I almost don't want to tell you about our adventure today. Not because it wasn't good...exactly the opposite - because it was SO good. I hate to give away the "secret" of this little place about an hour away from our house where you can get close enough to feed camels, zebra, water buffalo, llamas, bison, elk, ostrich, deer, pot belly pigs, and a bunch of other animals I can't even name.I stumbled upon an advertisement for this 60-acre animal preserve that offered open-air, hour-long rides where they promised you would be able to "feed a stampede". The weather was beautiful today, so we ventured out to see if the reality could meet the advertisement. And it really did!Grace was tired since, for some unknown reason, she woke up at 7:00AM this morning even after staying up late last night for fireworks. But as she waited on the "bus" we could tell she knew something good was going to happen. She kept looking around and watching the other people board. She curiously played with the two buckets of food they gave us as I explained to her it was for the animals. As we crossed the first of three cattle gates, we were greeted by dozens of antlers and were told that many of the animals shed these in the winter, but at this site they remove them (it doesn't hurt) each year before the mating season when the animals tend to get aggressive. The bus made 6 or 7 stops along the way where the guide told us a little about the animals we were seeing and offered tips about how to feed them. Apparently, the zebras and ostrich were the most aggressive, so we were really careful when they approached the bus. We were more concerned with watching (protecting) Grace than feeding them.Kyle helped Grace feed the animals at each stop, showing her how to hold her hand up high and letting the food trickle into their mouths. Some even put their heads into the bus under the benches to get food that had fallen there. All of a sudden you would feel a furry face or a wet tongue sweep the area around your feet only to look down and see a huge head right there!

I was really amazed at the animals' mouths and the size of their teeth and tongues. When I reviewed my photos later, I was surprised at how many of these shots I took!

This one totally cracks me up!

See, this is why you need to brush your teeth!

We also had the rare treat of seeing a 1-week old baby water buffalo with its mother. The driver said that the mother hadn't come up to the truck since the baby was born, but she did today!After the safari (really a misnomer - a safari according to Webster is "a hunting expedition") we went to the "petting zoo" which really was just another place to feed the animals. This time we used the same food packed into ice cream cones. When you were done with the food, you just threw the cone into the pens with the animals. Good idea - no trash to clean up!I love that Grace was saying, "ostrich", "zebra", and "camel". She has seen pictures of these animals in books, but now the words have meaning for her since she has seen them in person. My only regret is not getting any photos of the zebras. I guess that means we will be heading back there in the spring!

PS - I just realized that today marks 18 months since Gotcha Day! Wow! It seems so long ago - almost like none of that ever happened and that I have never been without Grace in my life.

There were ten in the bed...

And the little one said....Just in the last week or so, Grace has become attached to her stuffed animals and blanket. She wants to take the blanket with her when we go out, but most of the time, I can convince her that "we don't take blankets to school" or the store, or the park, or gymnastics...

At night, she wants to sleep with her stuffed dolls. Each night I ask her, "Who do you want to sleep with tonight?' and generally the answer is Abby (aka Abby Cadabby) or Cooka (Cookie Monster) but it ends up that she sleeps with 5 or 6 stuffed animals. They have to be lined up next to and around her almost as if they are sleeping with her. I don't have a problem with this, if it is what she needs to comfort herself. After all, I have been pretty lucky that Grace is a good sleeper.

This is how I found her last night when I went in to check on her about 2 hours after I put her to bed. You can see, her "friends" didn't move too far from their original positions.

A girl's best friend

Well, for big girls that means diamonds...but for THIS girl it is her dog.And maybe her soccer ball. Ever since last Friday night she has not wanted to go anywhere without her ball.