Anyssa: Life in America: October 2011

While we took full advantage of the hot weather and long days by being out of the house as much as possible, as the days grow shorter and the sun goes down sooner, we are making the migration to the indoors. Sometimes indoor activities are just as much fun! As I mentioned previously, Anyssa really likes Rapunzel (from the movie "Tangled") so in an effort to imitate Rapunzel's long hair, Anyssa tied a bunch of blankets together and then to her own hair (by way of a scrunchy) and walked around carrying her large bundle of "hair."

Fall is also a good time to play games. She has learned a few games since she's gotten here (she loves UNO) but her latest favorite game is Smess. You have to jump all the way back to the 70's for this classic...it's "the ninny's chess." It's a chess type of game with 3 characters...ninnys, numskulls and brains. The object is to capture the other guy's brain. The moves are laid out on the board so it's pretty easy to play. I'm trying to teach her to think things out. Of course she has to WANT to win. Despite a couple of clear shots for her to win, she wanted ME to win today. Ain't she something?

Oh...and Ducky enjoyed the Rapunzel play too...he took a nap in her "hair!"

A game of logic and skill...sort of.

Rapunzel's hair

Buddies

Holy cow!! Where did the summer go? I used to think that the seasons picked up speed once I got out of school but toss a child into the mix (and extra fun stuff at work) and BAM! Summer is over. As I write this, Halloween is rapidly approaching. Our princess is about to experience her first ever Halloween and wants to dress as, what else, a PRINCESS!! Ah...but WHICH princess? For a few weeks, it's been Mulan. I know...a bit expected but I think Anyssa relates to Mulan because they are both, after all, Chinese. Off to the Disney store for a costume. We were doing pretty well UNTIL she saw the Repunzel dress. NOW she wants to be Repunzel! Oy! We want to make doubly and triplely (?) sure so we bought nothing yesterday. After a day to think, it sounds like Mulan is once again the favorite. More on this as it develops!

Halloween represents exactly 365 days that we've known Anyssa. We first met her on November 1st and the adoption was finalized on November 2nd. We are trying to figure out how to celebrate "Family Day" (as we are calling it), otherwise known as Gotcha Day. Gotcha Day just sounds a little too much like "ha! Gotcha!! Now try and get away." As for the moment, we are sticking with Family Day. We had discussed going out for a nice dinner at P.F.Chang's or something with a nice, Chinese atmosphere. We will try and stick a day trip to Chinatown in too, but probably later.

Anyssa got to visit her first major league ball park this year...TWICE. Of course that meant a trip to the south side of Chicago to see our (my) beloved Chicago White Sox. After having been with her as she was exposed to things for the first time, I thought back to my first trip to old Comiskey Park in the early 1970's. The way the green of the grass looked under the lights was surreal to me and stick in my mind to this day. I just KNEW that I had to keep my eyes on her face as she walked from the gate to the field. She froze, her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped...no kidding. It was wonderful. She looked so cute in her little pink Sox cap (thanks Ruth!!) Of course, with no idea of how the game works and baseball moving along at baseballs own speed, her attention was that of a typical American 6 year old. We walked around, got ice cream, looked at the souvenir shops and saw the statues around the field. It was a good day to be a daddy and it felt so good to have a little girl on my shoulders. The simple joys of life, right?

She ALSO got to her first NASCAR race! It was the Friday night truck race at the Chicagoland Speedway. I think she enjoyed this one about the same as baseball. Cars (or trucks) driving in a circle is an acquired taste and we're working on her. She liked how fast they were going (good sign) and enjoyed the company as we ate and tailgated prior to the race. Uncle Dave and Aunt Courtenay stayed with us for the weekend and Anyssa loved them visiting and enjoyed playing with them! It was really a fun weekend.

We took advantage of the warm weather last weekend by visiting a local farm and hitting the corn maze! And the hayride!! And the giant corn bin!!! Fun was had by all. Autumn is my favorite season so I'm glad we got a chance to enjoy it while it was warm. Patrick, Linda and Gigi went with us so the girls got a chance to play with each other.

OK...that's my summer-in-a-nutshell update. Of course, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy! Thanks for your patience...see you all soon right here!!