Olympic Rings Part II: Closing Ceremonies

As the games of the XXIX Olympiad conclude, Hannah has mastered the Olympic Rings and is changing the sport in ways no one has ever dreamed the Olympic Rings could be conquered. She has just discovered a new dimension to the rings, and is exploring the middle space her arms can fit through - something few have dared to try.

However, Hannah lives in a world of hypocrisy and irony, and she is aware that her creativity and style would likely be stifled by politically hungry judges with intentions that stray far away from her pure, unadulterated Olympic ideal. As well, she is far older then the average Gold Medal Gymnast - in fact she is older than the entire Chinese Gymnastics team by over a year, and she understands that she would be an elder stateswoman in troubled times at the games in London. Sensibly, she has started considering the wisdom of devoting all of her time to one discipline at such an early age.

Realizing that the Rings lack promise - but are still fun to keep around - Hannah has decided to pursue other avenues to stimulate her brain and fire her neurons... she is now deeply interested in the mystical world of composition, and finds that her intense training for the rings has helped her focus on her music. Her first Steinbeck piano is taking a pounding, but we are happy to see Hannah has wisely diversified her time and expanded her interests!

Crazy 8 (Months)

With the Olympics, we've all learned by now that 8 is one of the most auspicious numbers in Chinese culture. In fact, there are so many cool things about 8 that it'd take up way too much space here to report on them all. But for you numbers geeks out there, check out what Wikipedia has to say about it all. Anyway, we're happy to report that Hannah turned 8 months old today in this 8th month of 2008..!

A couple notes on her favorite activities these days:
- Getting faster and more adept at her newfound skill of crawling
- Going after everything in sight, now that she's on the move
- Putting everything she can now get her hands on into her mouth
- Trying to pull herself up on the coffee table, which she also likes to put into her mouth
- Suffering a few hard knocks after pulling up, and falling down
- Getting to ride around on Daddy's shoulders and pull his hair, which quickly eliminates any memory of hard knocks!

Happy 8-Month Birthday, Hannah!

Frozen Food

Our freezer is now the Fort Knox of pureed foods. We have anything one could imagine stored in ice cube trays and zip-lock baggies.

In addition to barley, oat, wheat and rice cereal, and of course, mother's milk, Hannah's diet has expanded to include a regular rotation of apple, apricot, avocado, acorn squash, banana, butternut squash, cantaloupe, carrot, cauliflower, peach, pear, prune, sweet pea, yam and drinking water. We have yet to try chicken, beef, beet, broccoli, chicken, corn, green bean, fish, mango, nectarine, plum, summer squash, zucchini... So far, Hannah seems to favor fruits (except bananas, ironically!), yams, and oatmeal.

Hannah's reactions to new tastes, smells, and textures are very expressive. She gives either a frown (expressing moderate dislike or uncertainty), a cringe-and-spine-curdling-shudder (utter disgust), or a pleasant and relaxed, open mouthed exhale of acceptance (approval). She sometimes will rub her face with her fist if she is leaning towards dislike, and pump her hands up and down in front of her if she is excited and happy... The highchair is becoming quite a fun destination, for parents and daughter alike... Bon appetit.

Whose baby is that?

Can you find five things that are different in these two photos, which were taken more than 30 (ahem) years apart??

Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich

Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich

by Shel Silverstein

A hippo sandwich is easy to make.
All you do is simply take
One slice of bread,
One slice of cake,
Some mayonnaise,
One onion ring,
One hippopotamus,
One piece of string,
A dash of pepper--
That ought to do it.
And now comes the problem...
Biting into it!

Happy Birthday Jack Wollan!

Happy 7th Birthday, Jack! We love you very much, and Hannah is very lucky to have such great cousins like you and Kate. Here are two special pictures which capture your vibrant spirit and very caring nature. Jack, we hope you have a wonderful day, and wish you well as you enter into your 8th year! Love, Hannah, Kristina & Jon.

Some famous people who share August 10 with you as their Birthday:
August 10, 1974 Walt Harris, Cornerback for the Chicago Bears
August 10, 1874 Herbert Clark Hoover, 31st President, 1929-1933
August 10, 1928 Jimmy Dean, Singer/ Actor/ Sausage Guy (we love Jimmy Dean Bacon)

On your Birthday, some notable events also occurred in the past:
August 10, 1821- Missouri becomes 24th state in the US.
August 10, 1846 - Smithsonian Institution Act signed to create the Smithsonian Institution.

Olympic Rings

Hannah, staring, bemused and somewhat perplexed after watching her strange dad organize her plastic rings while saying to her, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger). Baron Pierre de Coubertin ordained this phrase the official Olympic motto "for people who dare to try to break records." Hannah will hopefully come to appreciate the essence of the Olympic Creed as she experiences life: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Apparently the Olympic rings taste great too. The orange one is the best.

Mike "Avocado" Ditka

No I do NOT like Avocados, Sam I am,
I do NOT like them in a BOWL,
I do NOT like them on a SPOON,
I do NOT like them in a CUP,
I am NOT their number one fan.
I do not like my avocado mustache,
Almost as much as I do not like it
when the Bears QB drops a pass.
I will not eat avocados, Sam I am.
I am not their number one fan.
They make me shudder, twitch and cry
They taste so miserable Sam I am,
They bring out my MIKE DITKA STINK-EYE!